Winning Alternatives to the Billable Hour: Strategies that WorkThis practical book details the economic and client service advantages of alternative law firm billing methods, the various billing methods currently available and how to select and implement the right alernative billing method for law firms of all sizes. |
Contents
The Search for the Meaning of Value | 1 |
CLIENT PERCEPTIONS OF VALUE | 2 |
WHAT IS VALUE? | 3 |
CONCLUSION | 5 |
The Changing Legal Profession | 7 |
TECHNOLOGY WITHIN THE LAW OFFICE | 8 |
CLIENTS UNDERSTANDINGS AND BELIEFS ABOUT TECHNOLOGY | 9 |
CONSUMER ATTITUDES IN GENERAL | 11 |
TECHNOLOGY IN FEESETTING AND BUDGETS | 112 |
SUBSTANTIVE SYSTEMS AND DOCUMENT ASSEMBLY | 113 |
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT TOOLS | 115 |
SHARING THE COSTS AND BENEFITS OF TECHNOLOGY | 116 |
CONCLUSION | 117 |
Developing the Case Plan or Transaction Plan | 119 |
ELEMENTS OF THE CASETRANSACTION PLAN | 121 |
PREPARING IN ADVANCE | 122 |
THE ONLY CONSTANT IS CHANGE | 12 |
DEMOGRAPHICS | 13 |
PROFIT SQUEEZE AND INCOME COMPRESSION | 14 |
THE LEGAL MARKET AS A MATURING MARKETPLACE | 15 |
THE FUTURE OF THE PROFESSION | 20 |
IMPACT OF THESE TRENDS | 21 |
Ethical Rules and Practices | 23 |
THE GOLDEN RULE | 25 |
GRAY AREAS | 26 |
Pricing Legal Services | 31 |
THE VALUE CURVE | 37 |
HOURLY BILLING IS COSTDRIVEN | 50 |
VARIATIONS OF HOURLY RATES | 51 |
Pricing Legal Services for the Solo and SmallFirm Lawyer | 55 |
THE VALUE CURVE | 56 |
MARKET FACTORS FOR THE MAIN STREET LAWYER | 61 |
PRICING STRUCTURE AS THE BASIS OF AN OFFICE SYSTEM | 64 |
I CANNOT DO IT AT THAT RATE AND MAKE ANY MONEY | 65 |
CONCLUSION | 66 |
Foundations on Which to Build a Billing Method | 67 |
DETERMINING COST | 70 |
COST OF SERVICE VERSUS VALUE TO THE CLIENT | 71 |
KNOWING COSTS THROUGH DETAILED COST ACCOUNTING | 72 |
EXERCISE IN COST ACCOUNTING | 75 |
DETERMINING COST TO PRODUCE A PACKAGE OF SERVICES | 77 |
TASKBASED ANALYSIS | 78 |
EXAMINING CLOSED FILES TO CREATE MINISYSTEMS OR PREDICT FEES | 80 |
RECURRING VARIABLES OR UNCERTAINTIES | 81 |
EXAMINING PROFITABILITY AS IT RELATES TO BILLING | 82 |
CONCLUSION | 83 |
Billing as Part of the Communication Process | 85 |
ELEMENTS OF THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS | 87 |
KNOW WHAT YOU WANT TO COMMUNICATE | 91 |
A MODEL FOR DELIVERY OF LEGAL SERVICES | 95 |
SATISFACTION AND PRICE | 99 |
HOW TO PREPARE AND PRICE YOUR SERVICE PACKAGE | 101 |
A FEW MORE WORDS ON COMMUNICATING VALUE | 103 |
Technology and Billing | 105 |
DETERMINING BILLING METHODS | 124 |
Alternative Methods of Billing | 125 |
CONTINGENT FEE | 127 |
HOURLY RATE | 128 |
BLENDED HOURLY RATE | 130 |
FIXED OR FLAT FEE PLUS HOURLY RATE | 132 |
HOURLY RATE PLUS A CONTINGENCY | 133 |
PERCENTAGE FEE | 135 |
TASKBASED FEE | 136 |
RETROSPECTIVE FEE BASED UPON VALUE | 137 |
UNIT FEE | 139 |
RELATIVEVALUE METHOD | 140 |
LODESTAR METHOD | 141 |
STATUTORY OR OTHER SCHEDULED FEE SYSTEM | 142 |
AVAILABILITYONLY RETAINER | 143 |
RETAINER AS A DEPOSIT AGAINST FUTURE SERVICES | 145 |
Implementing ValueBased Billing | 147 |
VALUE BILLING AND PROFITABILITY | 148 |
STRATEGIES FOR PROFITABLE VALUE BILLING | 149 |
POSITION ON THE VALUE CURVE | 151 |
HOW TO BRING IT ABOUT | 153 |
COULD THIS HAPPEN IN YOUR OFFICE? | 155 |
ARGUMENTS IN FAVOR OF CHANGING BILLING METHODS | 156 |
IMPEDIMENTS TO CHANGE | 161 |
CONCERNS OF CORPORATE COUNSEL | 162 |
CONCLUSION | 164 |
Legal Representation Agreements | 165 |
CAVEAT | 168 |
Evaluating Results of the Use of Alternative Billing Methods | 169 |
CLIENT AUDITS | 170 |
PERFORMANCE EVALUATION | 172 |
CONCLUSION | 174 |
Fee Letters Agreements and Other Resources | 175 |
| 275 | |
About the Editors | 285 |
About the Diskette | |
Common terms and phrases
agree alternative billing methods American Bar Association amount attorney fees Bar Association basis billable hours budgeting Chapter charged client's perception communication competitive contingent fee corporate costs counsel court Davis Wright Tremaine determine develop discuss document assembly Eligible Claims estate planning example Exhibit expenses factors fee agreement fee arrangement firm's fixed fee flat fee handled Harris Morgan Hourly Fee in-house involved knowledge management law firm law office Law Practice Management lawyer and client lease legal fees legal profession legal representation legal services Main Street lawyers marketplace matter ment Model Rule needs paralegals partner payment perception of value performed practice group Practice Management Section prepare Private Placement Memorandum profit Program representation agreement retainer Retainer Agreement task task-based timekeeper tion tom Line total fee transaction trust account understand Unit Fee value billing value curve