Legal Commentary

Is It Possible That The Hourly Rate Model Is Just Misunderstood?

By Patrick J. Lamb

Awwww.  The billable hour model is not so bad, just misunderstood.   Such is the hypothesis of a new law.com article, In Defense Of The Billable Hour: Bad, Or Just Misunderstood?.   One expects a vigorous defense of the poor 'ole hourly rate, but that is not to be.  Instead, the article takes issue with reliance on the arbitrary rate number chosen by a firm for a lawyer's block of time and instead underscores the importance of these things:

• Knowledge counts.
• Experience trumps.
• Magic matters--the ability to see a solution when others can't.
• Wisdom is key--the insight to know when to say no to something.

Bottom line of this article?  The Billable Hour is bad, not misunderstood.  Which leads to this question:  Is there no one who will seriously defend the billable hour?  Are there any takers?

Full post as published by In Search of Perfect Client Service on May 18, 2009 (boomark / email).