Over the years, ABA surveys have indicate that legal fees only get ranked between number 5 to 7 on the lists of top concerns by clients. This fact often escapes lawyers because clients DO COMPLAIN about the cost of legal services. However, when one looks deeper, often what one uncovers is that clients are really

I have long advocated that the billable hour is not only bad for clients, but bad for lawyers too. From a client’s perspective it is like government work, that is, cost-plus, because the more the lawyer works (efficiently or otherwise) the more the lawyer makes. From the attorney’s standpoint once he or she has created

In all my years in the legal marketing business, one of the most important lessons learned is that clients do not like surprises. Do any of us? Many years ago as an in-house marketing director, I produced a video in which clients stated their expectations of their outside law firms. I shared this with

Small firms can gain an advantage by looking seriously at alternatives to billing by the hour. Although large firms bill mainly based on hourly rates, they do use alternative billing such as fixed fees, discounted fees, premium based on results, etc. But they do not do much of it. Consultant Jim Calloway co-authored an