Hourly Rates and Alternatives

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Really?  I just received an invitation to a seminar that stresses that the average attorney bills 6 minutes per day less than they did two years ago. Six minutes a day! According to this invitation, that costs firms more than “$12,000 in lost billings per lawyer per year.  If you have 200 associates, that’s $2.4…

When I have the opportunity to speak, I ask participants and co-presenters about their experiences with alternative fees.  Better than half the time, I am told “my clients don’t want alternative fees.”  I always ask whether the firm has developed different work methods or whether the work methods are the same for both hourly and…

Something interesting happened recently.  Jeff Carr, Nicole Auerbach and I consulted with a client about how to improve the law department’s performance and save money.  Shortly afterwards, Nicole and I consulted with a law firm about moving to alternative fee arrangements.  The interesting thing was that we found ourselves enjoying being consultants.  We found,…

Just read this:

MoFo, which submitted its first monthly fee statement earlier this week, is serving as special renewable energy counsel to the official committee of unsecured creditors. The firm is seeking $641,212 in compensation for work between April 29 and May 31.

MoFo’s attorneys billed more than 683 hours during that time period and

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Last week, BTI Consulting reported that alternative fee arrangements have “soared to an all time high,” noting that AFAs generated savings of nearly 14%, or an average of $2.7 million for law departments.   These savings are significant, but as I have often said, much greater savings are possible if AFAs are deployed with other important…