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In Search of Perfect Client Service Why lawyers don't seem to get it

Monthly Archives: September 2010

WSJ Blog Picks Up On Continuing Rate Increases

By Patrick Lamb on Posted in Commentary, Hourly Rates and Alternatives

I recently noted that law firms were continuing to increase rates even though their clients were experiencing difficult times.  The Wall Street Journal Law Blog picked up on the story.  I love Nathan Koppel’s concluding line: "color us surprised." In reality, it is really not surprising.  It reflects a paralysis of thinking and imagination.  By … Continue Reading

The Gender Gap Among Partners

By Patrick Lamb on Posted in Commentary

Fascinating study by researchers from Temple University and the University of Texas that concludes that the pay gap between men and women partners is not due to productivity.  Here is the money quote: Our statistical analysis concludes that women partners are compensated less than men on average at the AMLAW 200 law firms regardless of… Continue Reading

Two + Two = Return To The Old Ways?

By Patrick Lamb on Posted in Commentary

    What should be made of these two stories? 1.  Associate salaries in a holding pattern.  Salaries have stagnated.  Good news for clients, who have been critical of the ever increasing salary structures employed by their firms. 2.  So, what’s been happening with those hourly rates now that costs are stagnating?  That’s right, they… Continue Reading

The Billable Hour, The Supreme Court and a Dog’s Tail

By Patrick Lamb on Posted in Commentary, Hourly Rates and Alternatives

  We now know who to blame for the billable hour.  Or at least who to blame for its perpetuation. According to former Kirkland partner Steve Harper in  The Belly of the Beast: Yet it survives because it has powerful defenders, including the Supreme Court’s conservative five-man majority. Yes, the obstacles facing those seeking better… Continue Reading