In the Year 2000: Fixed Fee Legal Services?
In the year 2000 (excuse the cheap Conan O’Brien reference) I’m supposed to have a flying car and a machine that dresses me in the morning. Unfortunately, I have neither. In fact, I would venture to guess that the way in which I get myself ready in the morning for work is not that different than what my grandfather did 60 years ago. The same concept holds true for how law firms bill clients…the traditional hourly billing method.
Now, the hourly billing method has been successful for attorneys and the clients they serve…so there is no need to throw the baby out with the bathwater right away. But it is equally true that in today’s economy, hourly billing can sometimes not be the most economically efficient way of providing legal services to clients.
All that being said, and given the recent cost-cutting focus of large corporations and rich people the world ’round, the law industry is beginning to come around to the notion of Fixed-Fee Legal Services (as this story proves).
What a concept.
Fixed-Fee legal services are already something offered by many attorneys (including your humble author), and a practice that is more prevalent than traditional hourly billing in some areas. The fact that the legal industry as a whole is beginning to entertain the notion makes it newsworthy, but certainly not original.
Fixed-fee has the potential to be both the greatest revelation in attorney/client relations since the introduction of computer technology and, at the same time, the worst idea ever. The key to fixed-fee (and to successful hourly billing) is at all times managing client expectations; understanding the scope of work to be done; and fleshing out the relevant facts before beginning work.
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