“I'm worried that my firms won’t compete in a competitive bidding process” is something we hear often when speaking with corporate legal departments about PERSUIT.
It’s a valid concern.
So it’s natural to ask: “If I start using RFPs before selecting firms for some (or all!) of my matters, will top firms even participate in the process?”
The answer is: Yes, they will.
As you’ll see in the data below, the top law firms in the world show no hesitation about participating in a competitive RFP, especially if the expected value of the matter is above $250,000.
Looking for benchmark data about the pricing, discounts, and the competitiveness of top law firms? Read our data report: 5 Data Benchmarks to Use When Firms Ask: “How Can We Win More of Your Business?”
Top firms participate between 85% and 90% of the time when invited to competitive RFPs
Over 2,200 law firms and legal service providers — including over 90% of the top 200 firms in the world — have submitted proposals on PERSUIT to date.
One data point that we track across the platform is called “participation rate.”
Participation rate means: How often do firms submit a proposal for a matter to which they are invited?
Firms in the Global 1-50 submit proposals between 85% and 90% of the time when invited to a competitive RFP for large-value matters (matters valued above $250,000).
That’s actually a higher participation rate than firms ranked outside the Global 50 rankings.
Conclusion: Top firms have no hesitation about participating in competitive RFPs — especially for high-value matters
Firms may still angle to bypass competitive RFPs if they can.
But the data from PERSUIT’s database is clear. Firms of all sizes are regularly participating in competitive RFPs.
And for higher value matters, top firms actually compete more often than their peers — not less.
If you found the data in this article helpful, check out our data benchmarking report for more: 5 Data Benchmarks to Use When Firms Ask: “How Can We Win More of Your Business?”
