Features

Is the Ballooning Billing Rate Ready to Pop?
Short of a seismic financial shock, hefty law firm billing rate increases are seemingly here to stay, much to the chagrin of clients and their general counsel. But that’s not to say that market conditions aren’t evolving to challenge the status quo of large rate increases — and in the words of one consultant advising corporate law departments, you don’t know you’re in a bubble until it pops.
Features

The Double-Edged Sword of Discounting Corporate Legal Fees: Weighing Profitability Against Client Retention
This article delves into the multifaceted implications of discounting corporate legal fees, exploring both the potential benefits and the risks associated with this strategy.
Features

ABA Issues New Ethics Opinion On Billing for AI-Supported Work
A new American Bar Association ethics opinion touches on what has been a risky business area for Big Law in the emergence of generative AI: billing and fees related to AI-supported legal work.
Features

Partner Pay Spread Increases for Top Law Firms Amid Partnership Model Changes
Amid unprecedented billing rate hikes and an escalation of the battle for rainmaking talent, Am Law 100 law firms again raised the stakes on partner pay last year. At the same time, the average spread among Second Hundred firms fell a bit.
Features

Law Firms Eager to Increase Nonequity Tiers
Last year saw a "staggering" jump in the number of law firm leaders who said they wanted to increase their nonequity tier going forward. Now it's clear many of the biggest Big Law players are following through, with several Am Law 100 firms growing their income partner ranks by double-digit percentages in 2023.
Features

Big Law Banks On Contingency Fees to Maximize Profitability
In a quest to maximize profitability, Am Law 200 law firms have grown their share of business tied to contingency fees, a gamble that has paid off for some firms in recent years.
Features

Law Firms Happy to Trade Falling Realization Rates for Strong Rate Increases
While some firm leaders pointed to market factors such as economic uncertainty, most indicated that declining realization rates were a price they were happy to pay in exchange for several years of strong rate increases.
Features

AI, the Billable Hour and Improving Client Service
The ultimate guardian of the quality of client service is the partners' own judgement but properly utilizing AI can set expectations that will benefit the clients and the firm and end forever the "End of the Billable Hour" stories.
Features

Generative AI and Law Firm Pricing
Generative AI, combined with client education, could signal the slow death knell of the billable hour.
Features

White Box vs. Black Box Compensation Systems
Having a compensation system that clearly outlines partner expectations, provides the partners with the ability to validate the results by communicating the results back to them does more to build collegiality than an opaque system that, by its design, promotes distrust and ill will among partners.
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