From: Breaking Legal News
Alan G. Badey, CPA and a partner at Citrin Cooperman & Company,
writes: As law firms struggle to maintain profitability, if not
their survival, in the current economic climate, the debate over
the almighty billable hour has been renewed. There's no doubt that
many clients are forcing their law firms to explore alternative
billing methods, whether they like it or not. And it's not just
about saving money. It's about clients, perhaps feeling they have
leverage, seeking value and accountability for the fees they are
charged. Whether that's the case or not, it's a good time for firms
to analyze the different methods and discuss with their clients
which ones make sense. Free With Registration: From Lockstep to
'Levels'Larry Richard, an organizational psychologist as well as a
former trial l...
Respond to this topic on your own blog
Click and press Ctrl+C to copy and paste this discussion on your blog or site
Related Articles
Law Firms Resort to Suing Their Clients to Collect Fees
It's a step that law firms try to avoid taking. But when economic
times aren't flush, some law firms are getting aggressive and
filing lawsuits against clients to collect fees. "It's not
something we do lightly," said Julia B. Morris, managing partner of
O'Connell, Flaherty & Attmore. The firm has 29 pending cases
seeking about $523,000 in unpaid fees. In the past two years, it
has closed at least 11 fee dispute cases seeking about $145,000.
Consultants disagree on how firms that sue clients are perceived.
Economic downturn brings upturn for litigators
Ever since last year's economic free fall, law firms have engaged
in a robust debate over the extent to which the recession would
trigger new litigation work - potentially a fresh source of revenue
for otherwise strapped firms.Some firms reported sharp increases,
while others said the results had been underwhelming.Now a survey
by a prominent national law firm of the heads of legal departments
at some of the nation's largest public and private companies
suggests that litigation-practice groups will be busy for some time
to come.The firm, Fulbright & Jaworkski L.L.P., surveyed the
legal departments of 392 companies in the United States and the
United Kingdom. Nearly half the U.S. respondents said they were
preparing for a spike in litigation, compared with 32 percent last
year.Fully hal...
Best Law Firms to Work For
What it's really like to work at the nation's largest law
firms? In Vault.com 's just-released 2011
Law Firm Quality of Life Rankings, more than 15,000 associates
provided an insider's view on what they believe are the
best law firms based on such areas as overall satisfaction,
associate/partner relations, firm culture, hours, compensation,
office space, training, pro bono and green
initiatives.  According to the survey, the
top 10 law firms to work for are:...Read Full Post
US law firms see double revenue dip
SIGNS of the damaging effects of the global recession on law firm
business came as the top 10 US law firms with offices in London
reported an average double-digit fall in financial figures for
2009.Often described as the bellwether for how the
UK’s law firms will report finances for the
year, US firms saw an overall average drop of around 12 per cent in
London revenue in 2009.White & Case, which held on to its spot
as the top US firm by revenue, saw London fee income fall from
$245.9m to $197m for the year, while Baker & McKenzie saw its
numbers fall to $184.5m.“International law firms
with offices in London which have heavily relied on transactional
practices had a difficult year in the aftermath of the Lehman
Brothers crash,†said Baker & McKenzie London
managing partne...
Small, Midsize and Boutique Law Firms Benefiting from Bad Economy
Here's a twist: the recession has clobbered big firms, but it's
actually helped drive Fortune 500 clients to small, midsize and
boutique law firms, according to a new study by Robert Half Legal,
a recruiter of lawyers for law firms and corporate legal
departments. "Although all law firms have suffered to some degree
in the economic downturn, many small and boutique firms were able
to turn adversity into opportunity. Because of their lower overhead
and operating costs, small firms can offer the same legal services
for significantly less than large firms. This makes both new and
established small firms attractive to c...
