SaaS legal pricing startup Virtual Pricing Director – the tech solution from pricing experts Validatum and costs consultancy Burcher Jennings – has entered the technology partner programme of both Thomson Reuters Elite and Aderant Expert, paving the way for joint practice management system bids, we can reveal.
Thomson Reuters doesn’t have a native pricing solution, but it is now common for law firms going out to market for a new PMS to include pricing requirements in their RFPs. Speaking to Legal IT Insider, VPD chairman Richard Burcher said of Thomson Reuters: “They have accelerated us into their partner programme. They don’t normally take start-ups; you normally have to be around for a really long time to be considered, but they have seen huge potential in us, and we have a great relationship with the global head of strategic alliances.”
He says: “We have had a very warm welcome from Aderant, who have been encouraging with technical support and we are now part of their partner programme.”
It is a mark of credibility for VPD that both Thomson Reuters and Aderant have welcomed them under their roof, which happened in both instances in March. Burcher says: “It’s an endorsement of us and what we’re doing and a significant reassurance to customers of those companies, opening the doors to more conversations.”
While VPD is a tech solution, firms are attracted by the team’s longevity and experience in the pricing consulting space. Burcher says: “For us that’s a massive USP that means we can go into any firm in the world and be taken seriously.”
It comes as law firms focus increasingly on partner profitability, which is surfaced in VPD both in real time and retrospectively when putting together proposals.
VPD is now able to use Thomson Reuters and Aderant’s logos on its website and in its marketing materials. It has already been invited to put proposals out to a number of major firms.
The news comes as VPD, which has been bootstrapped to date, looks at its options to scale up and Burcher says: “We’re having discussions at the moment with a number of parties who can amplify what we’re doing.”
Existing VPD clients include Fieldfisher; Morrisons Solicitors; Shakespeare Martineau; Gardner Leader Solicitors; Buckles Law; Bristol firm VWV; and New Zealand law firm Cooney Lees Morgan.
See also:
Fieldfisher adopts “out of the box” Virtual Pricing Director