Sunday, February 1, 2009

The End of the Billable Hour?

Not yet, but perhaps sooner than we think.
This article from the NY Times Dealbook weighs in on the recent debate over some very old questions: What is our time as lawyers worth? How do we want to quantify the work that we do? And finally, how deeply entrenched are we in the sometimes inefficient and inaccurate measure of billable hours?

Also note the quote from Harvard law professor David B. Wilkins, who gave a fascinating lecture at Chicago-Kent last September on the future of the attorney-client relationship.

2 comments :

  1. Anne S said...

    Also check out this post from abovethelaw.com - http://abovethelaw.com/2009/01/the_leaning_tower_of_biglaw.php - with additional commentary from the New York Law Journal.

  2. Anne S said...

    For further discussion, also see these "routine overbilling scams" from AmLaw Daily - http://amlawdaily.typepad.com/amlawdaily/2009/02/the-art-of-overbilling.html.