I can pull together teams of top - flight attorneys with specific skill sets for both large and small deals and can offer
clients alternative billing arrangements that are appropriate for their needs and the requirements of the deal.
Not exact matches
Most of the ideas are fairly obvious — lower starting salaries for new associates combined with increased training, a menu of
alternative billing arrangements for
clients, creation of
client - centric practices such as frequent evaluations and
client wikis to keep
clients informed.
Clients can be skeptical of
alternative billing arrangements when they do not understand how those
arrangements will benefit them.
Analyze your practice in order to select which
clients and which practice areas you will propose to make available
alternative billing arrangements.
The type of legal work performed for your
clients, the nature of your
client base, the competitive environment in which your firm practices and the
client's perception of the value of the legal work performed will be critical factors in determining whether your firm should volunteer or react to external pressures for
alternative billing arrangements from your
clients or as the result of competitive pressures created by other law firms.
's
clients can choose to utilize
alternative fee
arrangements such as fixed costs, capped fees and / or «value
billing» (or a mix of all three).
As a nimble friendly boutique firm, we can also offer cost - effective,
alternative billing arrangements to help our
clients manage their business law and litigation expenses.
There has been a steady onslaught against the billable hour in recent years, not least of which is such as the demand by many
clients for
alternative billing arrangements.
In fact, lawyers who solicit and utilize other marketing techniques and
alternative billing arrangements may find many disenchanted
clients of other firms receptive to the idea of changing lawyers.
In the simplest terms
Alternative or Special Fee
Arrangements are agreements between a law firm and a
client to provide compensation to the firm based on a structure other than hourly
billing.
The type of legal work performed for your
clients, the nature of your
client base, the competitive environment in which your firm practices and the
client's perception of the value of the legal work performed will be critical factors in determining (a) whether your firm should volunteer or (b) react to external pressures for
alternative billing arrangements from your
clients or as the result of competitive pressures created by other law firms.
«At a time when general counsel are looking for
alternative billing arrangements, the playing field has been leveled, so smaller firms can make pitches to big
clients that would have fallen on deaf ears before,» DuPont General Counsel Thomas L. Sager told Cotts.
The general theme is this: hourly
billing frustrates
clients; firms need to find new ways to add and show value — and the best way is through
alternative fee
arrangements that
clients are gravitating towards in droves.
On
alternative fees:
Clients, not firms, have been the greater barrier to adoption of
alternative billing arrangements, panelists suggested.
(1) Analyze your practice in order to select which
clients and / or which practice areas you will propose to make available
alternative billing arrangements.
(3) Are there existing or potential
clients that your firm may better retain, attract and serve by being willing to agree to
alternative billing arrangements?
To accomplish this, partners must select which
clients and practice areas to make available for
alternative billing arrangements and to invest their time to manage each practice area.
(6) Does your firm have a plan to develop the necessary skills to implement
alternative billing arrangements with specific
clients?
The type of legal work performed for your
clients, the nature of your
client base, the competitive environment in which your firm practices and the
client's perception of the value of the legal work performed will be critical factors in determining two things: Whether your firm should volunteer; or React to external pressures for
alternative billing arrangements from your
clients or as the result of competitive pressures created by other firms.
The more sophisticated business and corporate
clients are insisting that outside counsel implement
alternative billing arrangements in lieu of the traditional hourly - rate
billing, which encourages and rewards inefficient performance and management of legal work, and discourages productivity and quick achievement of
client objectives.
But now, tired of subsidizing law firm gravy trains, large corporate
clients are forcing firms to offer
alternative billing arrangements, such as flat fees, volume discounts and banning new associates from working on matters.
It is the firm's policy to work with our
clients to develop rate structures and
billing procedures that are mutually agreeable, including
alternative billing arrangements such as fixed or task - based fees, contingent fees and volume - based discounted fees.
For our
clients on the defense side, we have been a leader in
alternative billing arrangements and always maintain fair
billing rates and invoices.
ALM Legal Intelligence reports that as
clients request
alternative fee
arrangements, law firms find, at a 2:1 ratio, that these new
billing structures are less profitable.
These
arrangements allow firms to offer
clients more flexibility in
billing and may be a viable
alternative for smaller practices that can not afford to hire new associates.
Competition for corporate, business and individual
clients will cause traditional hourly
billing rates to be replaced by variations of hourly
billing arrangements, contingency and fixed fee and combination of these
alternatives.
We've written a lot about the billable hour from various perspectives, and have considered some
alternative billing arrangements available to lawyers and
clients.
LexSage understands that
clients are increasingly asking whether
alternative billing arrangements are offered.
The
alternative billing arrangements may better align a
client's perception of the value of legal services and management of legal resources.
Access to accounting and
billing data allows firm management to assess the financial impact of key
clients or matters, or to support decisions on
alternative fee
arrangements
Law Firm Suites
client and transactional attorney, Jason Huf, also mentioned this article in his recent blog post about «part - time in house counsel»
arrangements as an
alternative to the traditional hourly
billing model.
For example, some firms have invested significant time and money in developing customized financial reporting producing performance metrics based on
client billing, collection, realization, and costs associated with producing work — from task to timekeeper — then used those metrics to determine where the firm can offer more competitive
alternative fee, or non-hourly,
arrangements.
Corporate
clients in the current buyers» market are increasingly demanding lower, fixed prices and value - based
Alternative Fee
Arrangements («AFAs») in lieu of hourly
billing — making law firms bear the «risk of loss» in uncertain but complex litigation and transaction matters — even as the costs of running law firms continue to climb.
Kimberly has developed and implemented business strategy and process improvements, managed the successful integration of legal teams, and applied market data and performance metrics to set
billing rates, negotiate
alternative fee
arrangements, optimize staffing levels, and increase
client value.
As a practitioner who has recently started a consulting practice with both legal and «less legal» services in occupational health and safety, I thought an
alternative billing arrangement would be freeing to both me and my
clients.
McCarthy Tetrault's use of law firm analytics to re-engineer and improve M&A due diligence procedures, for example, «has allowed us to reduce costs to our
clients up to 75 per cent, while charging them using predictable
alternative fee
arrangements such as fixed - rate
billing,» said Peters.
For example, I have seen this accomplished with the help of the LexisNexis Juris
billing, accounting and financial management software which enabled the firm to produce timely and informative reports based on
clients»
billing and collection performance, and then using those metrics to determine where the firm can offer more competitive
alternative fee, or non-hourly,
arrangements.