We’re Unique, But Not “Special.”

Most lawyers like to think they are special. Snowflakes of sorts. Their work, they feel, is so incredibly unique, nobody else can do it. 

At ElevateNext, we don’t think we are special. (Don’t tell our moms!)  That’s why we don’t want to do your “special” work: the bet-the-company litigation, that major deal, the headline grabber.  We live for the routine work. The portfolios of litigation,  the responses to third-party subpoenas, the regulatory monitoring, horizon scanning contract advice and review, the corporate formation and management, the due diligence work and more.  Some call it run-the-company matters while others refer to it as business as usual (BAU) work. Whatever you call it, it’s the stuff that is bogging down the law department and large law firms.

 We are experts in the matters that are taking up too much in-house time or that your traditional firms are handling inefficiently or at too high a cost.  It’s not just because we are good at BAU work (we are).  It’s because we built ElevateNext with these types of matters in mind.  We are, after all, affiliated with a global full-service legal service provider, Elevate.

Our model is simple: We custom-build teams, often large global ones, with the skills needed to most effectively handle the matters you have. Every matter is lawyer-led and lawyer-integrated.  We employ tech and project-management to run those matters efficiently, and we make sure that you aren’t paying BigLaw prices for work that doesn’t need to be handled entirely by “special” lawyers. Our model includes developing playbooks where necessary and using data and automation to improve  process and identify useful trends.  We also think it’s imperative to have the right people in the right geographic location using the right tools at the right time to reduce costs, bring down cycle time and delight our customers. 

ElevateNext was named one of the “Best Law Firms in Commercial Litigation” for 2021, 2022 and 2023 by Best Lawyers and US News and World Report. We were also named one of the firms “Best at AFAs” by BTI Consulting.  With Elevate’s Alternative Business Structure (ABS) license in Arizona, we help bridge the gap between traditional law firms and legal service providers. And while that doesn’t make us “special,” it does make us unique, and incredibly useful.

So please, don’t ask us to handle your Supreme Court argument. Although we know we could hit it out of the park, we’d much rather delve into why your company keeps getting sued over the same clause in your purchase orders. Don’t worry – we will happily refer you to other attorneys – ones who are, well… very, very special.  

Industry Rebels

ElevateNext was founded by Patrick Lamb and Nicole Auerbach two legal industry rebels with a track record of seeing around corners and identifying where the legal industry is (or will be) going. They founded Valorem Law Group in 2008 to bring alternative fee arrangements to the mainstream. By 2016, they were one of the 22 firms named “best at AFAs” in the country. Described as “punching above their weight,” Pat and Nicole decided to throw another right hook at the legal industry by joining forces with Elevate Services, a globally acclaimed, full-service law company, to form a new model for the delivery of legal services. Pow. A knockout!

One Stop Solution

Once upon a time, in a galaxy close, close at hand, law departments sent the vast majority of their work to outside counsel. Then things changed and the trend was to bring more work (and staff) in-house. But when the Great Recession hit, companies began unbundling legal services and using outside service providers for things like document review, technology, staffing, operations, consulting and more. But that diffused outsourcing model required in-house staff to play the role of the cruise director who has to manage multiple outside law firms (none of whom are aligned with one another) and multiple outside providers, which leads to inefficiency and not always the greatest results.  

Business As Usual matters have become the things that most often fall through the cracks. That’s because individually, the dollar value at stake isn’t high (although, in the aggregate, it certainly can be). Also, if in-house staff is handling BAU matters,  the amount of time and effort they spend often gets overlooked.

Today, for various reasons, including the global pandemic, law departments are facing substantially reduced budgets but have to address the same amount, and usually even more work.  Simply getting discounted hourly rates from outside counsel is not the answer. Handling BAU matters differently is.  

Enter Elevate.  We seamlessly combine the legal practice with technology, process and lower cost alternatives across the globe so we can achieve substantial cost savings, efficiencies and better outcomes, faster, with no “cruise directing” needed. A one stop shop, for you.