I enjoy writing and speaking
about alternative fees, innovation and issues related to women in law.
Every firm talks
about alternative fees and client service, but none have changed their basic business model to make the tools needed to provide great client service the centerpiece of their existence.
When we started Valorem in 2008, no one was talking
about alternative fees, no one was offering alternative fees and the world, by and large, thought we were crazy.
Utah Business recently published Industry Outlook: Legal, which featured a question
about alternative fees.
Several years ago, you couldn't go to a conference without encountering a seminar on «alternative fees,» and law bloggers were writing
about alternative fees constantly (I'm as guilty as anyone).
Last month, I wrote about the fact that hourly billing isn't going away, no matter what the industry predictors say
about alternative fees, new ways of showing value, and new paradigms for delivering legal services.
Jim has spent more time thinking
about alternative fees than almost anyone I know, and his accumulated knowledge, analysis and insights are available in his Guide.
He laments the continued conversation among in - house and outside counsel
about alternative fees, claiming that
, author Tim Bratton notes that despite all of the discussion
about alternative fee arrangements, the focus of in - house counsel continues to be on billable hours as a standard for measuring «value,» even while all involved seem to concede that time does not actually equate to value.
Clients may not use the word «efficiency» but that's what they are pushing when they talk
about alternative fee arranegments.
If it seems like everywhere you go these days someone is talking
about alternative fee arrangements, you're not alone.
Despite discussions
about alternative fee arrangements and the changing times for the business of law, many clients and law firms still deal with compensation for legal work based on the billable hour.
To learn more
about our Alternative Fee Arrangements, please submit an inquiry to
[email protected].
So, even if you're not quite ready to make the change to value - based billig, perhaps it's time start thinking
about alternative fee arrangements.
When I talk with people in the legal marketplace
about alternative fee arrangements, I often hear two common objections.
This is not a basic class
about alternative fee arrangements and basic pricing options.
He also talks
about the alternative fee arrangements he has implemented with his clients, such as bartering his services for assets or property, as well as some strategies he has developed in his mediation practice.
Indeed barely a week passes without another article in the legal press
about Alternative Fee Arrangements and the death of the billable hour.
serious, for the first time,
about alternative fee arrangements, caps and blended rates, rate freezes, and so on
Not exact matches
More from Advisor Insight: The
alternatives to big banks and their high
fees Family, friends give millennials a lot of bad money advice What to ask
about your job benefits this fall
I mean, I knew that formula was a perfectly suitable
alternative to breastfeeding, but the list of BS things I told myself
about formula feeding was a long one and, well, that list left me
feeing anything other than confident and happy in my decision.
If your account is a consumer account, when you initiate transactions that cause you to incur an excessive number of NSF or overdraft
fees within a rolling 12 - month period, we will notify you in a message on your account statement and advise you to contact us
about exploring less costly
alternatives to managing your account.
Those concerned
about this but still wanting exposure may consider an
alternative suggestion from Yves Rebetez of ETF Insight: XMM, the iShares Edge MSCI EM Minimum Volatility Emerging Markets Index ETF (MER is 0.43 % after a
fee waiver of 0.39 %).
Self - directed investing is the
alternative to mutual funds, and I'm part of the camp that believes in self - directed investing because it allows you to save on
fees, learn
about finance, and potentially post market - beating returns.
The plan administrator should provide information
about management
fees in connection with each investment
alternative and transaction
fees each time a person directs investment transactions.
Don't be shy
about raising issues such as tax implications, differences in services, and
fees and expenses between retirement savings
alternatives.
The downside is that these funds charge an annual
fee of
about 1 %, but for the amounts you are talking
about this definitely sounds more attractive than the
alternative.
They tend not to boast
about being an
alternative asset manager, but their
fees are decidedly
alternative (despite their funds being mostly long only)!
The primary consumer protection problem areas that have given rise to the States» actions include: (1) unsubstantiated claims of consumer savings; (2) deceptive representations
about the length of time necessary to complete a debt relief program; (3) misleading or failing to adequately inform consumers that they will be subject to continued collection efforts, including lawsuits, and that their account balances will increase due to extended nonpayment under the program; (4) deceptive disparagement of consumer credit counseling; (5) deceptive disparagement of bankruptcy as an
alternative for debtors; (6) lack of screening and analysis to determine suitability of debt relief programs for individual debtors; (7) the collection of substantial up - front
fees so the debt relief company gains even if it fails to perform; (8) lack of transparency and information for consumers as to payment of
fees, status of accounts, and communications with creditors; (9) significant delays in active negotiation or engagement with creditors, coupled with prohibitions on direct consumer communications with creditors; and (10), in the case of debt settlement companies, basing savings claims (and settlement
fees) not on the original account balance, but on the inflated amount due (including late
fees and default rates of interest) at the time of settlement.
About Blog Independent Investment Advisory and Financial planning Firm Mayflower Capital, a NAPFA - registered
fee - onlyinvestment advisory and financial planning firm, provides an independent, professional
alternative to commissioned planners and traditional stockbrokers, by offering «
fee - only» financial planning and independent investment atvice.
The Home Trust preferred Visa is the best for no foreign exchange
fees, and this weekend there will be some more info
about alternative cards for Marriott Rewards.
To be successful at making a change from the billable hour to
alternative fee arrangements, lawyers should be clear
about the benefits to their clients and the consequences for failing to make the change.
For many years, the profession has been talking
about alternative billing schemes such as flat
fees, unbundled legal services, and pay - what - it's - worth options.
Contact us for a free consultation
about the cost - effective
alternative to expensive hourly lawyer
fees.
If you have experience with
alternative fees, think
about how they apply to the work identified in the RFP.
To do so, firms will get serious
about process improvement, project management, outsourcing, and
alternative fees.
According to Allstate managing counsel Bruce Goldberg, the system allows the insurance giant to work out
alternative fee arrangements with these 13 firms (
about half of them are smaller regional firms in the northwest, Ohio, West Virginia, and New Jersey).
Incidentally, if you are looking for additional guidance on flat
fees and
alternative billing, perhaps one of the best authorities is Allison Shields of Legalease Blogs, who has written extensively
about this topic.
about the subject that just won't die:
alternative fees, demurs:
For all the talk
about alternatives to the billable hour, this recent article entitled «Eight law firms to share $ 30 million in Delta bankruptcy legal
fees» demonstrates why that's never going to happen.
While some New Law models have been created as a direct result of the economic downturn, the founding partners of Valorem started talking prior to the recession
about creating
alternative fee structures for their clients.
«In - house counsel have been horrible
about promoting
alternative fees.»
In the third of four videos from the 10th Annual General Counsel Roundtable the participants talk
about their experiences with
alternative fee arrangements and issuing RFPs to external law firms.
Embrace the loss of the billable hour, and start thinking
about how you can use your data to set
alternative fee arrangements
But, by and large, my sense is that
alternative fees are all
about sharing risk.
It's just that enough lawyers have added
alternative fees to their toolboxes — without giving up on the billable hour entirely — that it's no longer interesting to talk
about them.
If you are unsure
about how to broach the subject, here are some of the most popular types of
alternative fee arrangements.
When we asked MPF Conference participants
about the percentage of revenue generated through
alternative fees, nearly half said less than 5 %.
You might have read a recent article
about the 12
alternative fee arrangements we use at A2L.
As much as clients complain
about hourly
fees, they are unsure what to expect with
alternatives, especially the exotic ones.