The use
of alternative fees such as non-hourly based billing is also up, but still only represents 10 per cent of fees collected, according to the Law Firms in Transition Survey, which received responses from law firm leaders at 238 U.S. law firms with 50 or more lawyers.
Not exact matches
Economic pressures to reduce legal costs is the primary force behind a growing number
of firms moving away from the billable - hours model to new
alternative billing models
such as fixed, flat, blended or capped
fees.
Actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied by forward - looking statements based on a number
of factors, including, without limitation: (1) risks related to the consummation
of the Merger, including the risks that (a) the Merger may not be consummated within the anticipated time period, or at all, (b) the parties may fail to obtain shareholder approval
of the Merger Agreement, (c) the parties may fail to secure the termination or expiration
of any waiting period applicable under the HSR Act, (d) other conditions to the consummation
of the Merger under the Merger Agreement may not be satisfied, (e) all or part
of Arby's financing may not become available, and (f) the significant limitations on remedies contained in the Merger Agreement may limit or entirely prevent BWW from specifically enforcing Arby's obligations under the Merger Agreement or recovering damages for any breach by Arby's; (2) the effects that any termination
of the Merger Agreement may have on BWW or its business, including the risks that (a) BWW's stock price may decline significantly if the Merger is not completed, (b) the Merger Agreement may be terminated in circumstances requiring BWW to pay Arby's a termination
fee of $ 74 million, or (c) the circumstances
of the termination, including the possible imposition
of a 12 - month tail period during which the termination
fee could be payable upon certain subsequent transactions, may have a chilling effect on
alternatives to the Merger; (3) the effects that the announcement or pendency
of the Merger may have on BWW and its business, including the risks that as a result (a) BWW's business, operating results or stock price may suffer, (b) BWW's current plans and operations may be disrupted, (c) BWW's ability to retain or recruit key employees may be adversely affected, (d) BWW's business relationships (including, customers, franchisees and suppliers) may be adversely affected, or (e) BWW's management's or employees» attention may be diverted from other important matters; (4) the effect
of limitations that the Merger Agreement places on BWW's ability to operate its business, return capital to shareholders or engage in
alternative transactions; (5) the nature, cost and outcome
of pending and future litigation and other legal proceedings, including any
such proceedings related to the Merger and instituted against BWW and others; (6) the risk that the Merger and related transactions may involve unexpected costs, liabilities or delays; (7) other economic, business, competitive, legal, regulatory, and / or tax factors; and (8) other factors described under the heading «Risk Factors» in Part I, Item 1A
of BWW's Annual Report on Form 10 - K for the fiscal year ended December 25, 2016, as updated or supplemented by subsequent reports that BWW has filed or files with the SEC.
Our interactive visualization tool below shows how the Amex Gold charge card and its other card
alternatives compare on a number
of metrics,
such as rewards rate, APRs, annual
fees, etc..
Also identified in the document are potential use cases for cryptocurrencies,
such as a more portable, fungible, divisible store
of value; trading that can result in capital gains or loss; payments for goods and services; and an
alternative route to circumvent high transaction
fees to transfer money for domestic or international purposes.
These days,
such activity has been discouraged by card issuers, given the higher
fees applied to balance transfers (typically 4 %
of the transfer amount) and the low rates
of return
of alternative investments and savings accounts.
Other important considerations around fairness must also be addressed,
such as whether to provide charge - free access options or routes to ensure accessibility and inclusivity, whether to charge individuals a congestion
fee for driving where
alternative modes
of transportation are not available (e.g. the lack
of public transit in rural areas), whether the charge for commercial and private vehicles differs or not, and whether individuals living further away from urban areas and thus travelling further distances should face a higher charge than individuals living in urban areas.
If the clients you're working with are
of low income or experiencing financial difficulties, you might charge a lower rate or offer
alternative forms
of payment,
such as reduced
fees, sliding scale or barter
of services.
«Institutions that are required to freeze in - state students» tuition rates for four years may use
alternative revenue streams
such as required
fees and nonresident tuition to offset the loss
of flexibility inherent in guaranteed - tuition programs.»
But 2,000 respondents to an Ipsos MORI survey have faith in the capacity
of comprehensive schools to enable social mobility, with 47 per cent backing high - quality schools over other educational
alternatives,
such as lowering tuition
fees, to help poor pupils.
However,
such services aren't entirely well - known to consumers who lack a traditional bank account.This results in something
of a chicken - and - egg problem when it comes to eliminating the
fees on these
alternative financial products.
These days,
such activity has been discouraged by card issuers, given the higher
fees applied to balance transfers (typically 4 %
of the transfer amount) and the low rates
of return
of alternative investments and savings accounts.
Regardless
of the reason, core Canadian exposure ETFs
such as iShares Core S&P / TSX Capped Composite Index (XIC), which has a management
fee of 5 basis points, may be an increasingly attractive choice for investors to consider either alongside or as an
alternative to the futures market.
There are many
alternative ways to protect your capital without paying
such hefty
fees, which will take a large bite out
of your returns.
However, there are still plenty
of great card
alternatives with great benefits,
such as no annual
fee and unlimited cash back rewards.
Bratton seems to agree in his article, saying that in his experience,
alternative fee arrangements run into difficulty when projects «blow up quickly or change direction unexpectedly,
such that a quote at the beginning
of a project based on a number
of assumptions can become meaningless.»
On the customer front, two examples: Half
of The American Lawyer's 20 A-List firms are on record this year as starting
alternative fee arrangements with important clients
such as Pfizer and Citibank.
For instance, the «Business Solutions» section
of the website addresses
such timely client concerns as
alternative legal
fee arrangements and developing a budget for new legal matters.
Since then, and particularly in recent years, there have been a large number
of initiatives designed to curb costs,
such as limiting Legal Aid, and the removal
of the ability to claim so - called additional liabilities in «no win, no
fee» agreements - from paying defendants, costs budgeting and the use
of alternative dispute resolution.
'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).
To accommodate the needs
of our clients, we have developed and used several
alternative pricing options that are not tied to the billable hour,
such as flat
fees, not - to - exceed
fees, performance - based
fees, blended hourly rates and annual
fees.
Unlike the bill by the hour lawyers who even bid
alternative fee proposals by using estimating the number
of hours a matter would take and then padding the final number, plaintiffs lawyers value a case by thinking through
such things what's the case worth vs. how long it will likely take to get a settlement or verdict and who is on the other side.
Led by the Association
of Corporate Counsel's «ACC Value Challenge,» corporate America is increasingly demanding that their outside law firms abandon the entrenched, historic, «cost - plus,» «billable hour» economic pricing model in favor
of «
Alternative Fee Arrangements» («AFAs») and other «value billing» approaches (e.g., non-hourly pricing arrangements such as «fixed fee,» «contingency,» or «hybrid» fee arrangement
Fee Arrangements» («AFAs») and other «value billing» approaches (e.g., non-hourly pricing arrangements
such as «fixed
fee,» «contingency,» or «hybrid» fee arrangement
fee,» «contingency,» or «hybrid»
fee arrangement
fee arrangements).
For example, Member States take varied positions on the availability
of third party litigation funding and
alternative fee arrangements (
such as contingency
fees); and some have opt - in systems, opt - out regimes, or both.
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.
While the death
of the billable hour continues to remain greatly exaggerated, the use
of alternative fee agreements (AFAs),
such as flat
fees, success - based
fees, auction - based
fees, etc., continues to increase and has led to a more business - like analysis by law firms as to how their services should be priced.
As noted above, using
alternative forms
of dispute resolution,
such as mediation or collaboration, can provide a significant reduction in legal
fees, and parties are wise to include dispute resolution strategies other than the courts in their agreements.
They continue to struggle with reduced staffing and to grapple with the best way to employ cost - saving measures
such as
alternative fee arrangements without sacrificing the quality
of their defense efforts.
While many law firms have made attempts to incorporate
such cost - saving measures as
alternative -
fee arrangements, there are a number
of other creative tactics law firms can take to reduce expenses to drive down the cost
of legal services.
Such a collection policy should cover everything from the beginning
of the relationship with the client to the payment
of the final bill to
alternatives for handling a
fee dispute.
Crane discussed a number
of alternative fee arrangements including discounted and volume discounts (e.g. 15 per cent on the standard hourly rate, for example, when
fees billed exceed $ 100,000 a year), and blended hourly rates (
such as $ 400 / hr blended rate for all lawyers on a file or $ 300 / hr for associates and $ 500 / hr for partners), as well as fixed and capped
fees.
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.
At heart
of the new software are complex mathematical models that help firms forecast what it will cost to perform a certain project, and thereby determine if it makes sense to offer an
alternative billing arrangement for that project
such as a flat
fee.
Another optional extra is loss
of use coverage which will pay for additional costs incurred in the event
of a disaster,
such as moving
fees and
alternative accommodation expenses.
The regulatory clampdown, which resulted in the drafting
of new AML procedures, the end
of zero -
fee trading, and a temporary suspension
of withdrawals, forced traders to seek
alternatives elsewhere (e.g. Japan)
such as P2P trading services like LocalBitcoins and BitKan, where there is less regulatory scrutiny but higher premiums.
All students in co-op programs, including mandatory, optional and
alternative,
such as guided career management, pay a non-refundable
fee to offset costs involved with the wide variety
of services and supports that are provided.
Soft costs paid by the borrower,
such as engineering costs, governmental
fees, developer
fees, etc., can be counted toward equity if they contribute to the completion and value
of the developed property, but
alternative collateral
such as land, purchase deposits and the proceeds
of other loans can not.
Product offerings might include
alternative types
of listing contracts
such as flat -
fee or seller - assisted listings, or perhaps affinity arrangements with other service providers.