Dion Harrington - A Measurable Impact

The Power of Data.

In this episode, Stephen Allen, VP of Get Sh*t Done at Elevate,  talks with Dion Harrington, Chief of Legal Operations at Rio Tinto, about outside counsel management and AFAs. Programs that have resulted in real savings for Rio Tinto, including $2M in savings on a single matter - and $10M in savings, program-wide in 2020.

[01:56] Data enabled us to focus on bottlenecks, driving transparency and accountability.

[05:03] During 2020, as every other function had to deliver hard savings, we did the same.

[06:34] Let’s start with a correct invoice - e-billing, timekeeping, and a legal bill review.

[08:53] RFPs with a well thought out scope of work lead to a better quality of bids and

effective AFA use.

[12:32] Zero to 94% of agreements signed with some fees under AFA and 88% of those with all fees under AFAs.

[13:16] Consistency in reporting and management of all our law firm spend.

[14:47] The challenge of implementing change and the need to stick at it …

[15:25] Access to data and a clear opportunity for improvement when it comes to gender diversity.