As you have no doubt noticed, there’s quite a bit of debate these days about traditional hourly billing vs. “value billing.” I recently touched on the issue here.
I ran across a quotation today that put the controversy in a different light:
“You don’t get paid for the hour. You get paid for the value you bring [...]
I’ve long believed that newer associates (especially, but not exclusively) don’t understand their clients’ business and how business issues effect legal services. Without understanding what the business context is for the legal issue you’re working on, it’s going to be difficult to know how important the issue is — i.e., is this a “bet the [...]
I’ve been meaning to write about an article available on Law.com, titled Commentary: Why Do We Work?, by Gregory S. Gallopoulos (managing partner and co-chair of the Tax Controversy Practice at Jenner & Block) since it was published in September. Monday morning may be the ideal time to pose this question, especially for those who suffer from [...]
The Wall Street Journal Law Blog ran a nice post yesterday on the projections of BigLaw managing partners for 2007. The post summarizes and discusses data from the Citigroup Private Bank’s forthcoming “Managing Partner Confidence Index,” supported by slides from the underlying study.Â
Not too surprisingly, most managing partners expect both revenues and expenses to increase. 44% of managing [...]
One of my mother’s friends, Margie Pitts Hames, argued in the Supreme Court in 1971, in Doe v. Bolton, the companion case to Roe v. Wade.  She told me that when she went to the clerk’s office before arguing, she was told to put on her hat — because court reporters at that time were required to wear [...]
I’ve recommended Worthwhile magazine in the past and was surprised when it seemed to disappear. And then recently I was reading a new magazine called Motto and discovered that Motto is the new Worthwhile. As explained here, a trademark challenge prompted the name change.
Motto’s, well, motto continues to be “purpose, passion and profit.” I recently reread [...]
Many lawyers and commentators like to criticize the billable hour as the source of all legal woes — or at least work/life balance challenges. There’s a certain appeal to the argument since, after all, the idea behind the billable hour is that experienced attorneys know more and are more skilled and therefore can accomplish more for [...]
Today I ran across a Law Practice Today article titled How to Be More User-Friendly, by Wendy L. Werner. The article lists reminders of what lawyers need to do, be, or think about “to not just be tolerated by the rest of the world, but to flourish.” Here’s the list, and I strongly encourage you to [...]
I tried something new and different this week.
I left my Blackberry at my desk when I closed up shop for the day.
Now, granted, I work from home, so it isn’t such a big issue for me to go back to my desk, check email there, etc. And I can hear my office phone ring from [...]
Regular readers of this blog know that I’m a proponent of finding work/life balance AND a proponent of excellent client service.  Though others may disagree, I think the two can and must co-exist, and frankly I question whether a lawyer can deliver top-notch legal services without some form of balance — recognizing that “balance” means radically [...]
March 30, 2007 
