Like most private-practice lawyers, I believed that we are principally hired for our expertise and skill. And that's true. And certainly every law firm partner knows that clients are sensitive to fees. Now, as a general counsel, I can attest to that too. But I also now see that law firm partners implicitly assume—incorrectly—that apart from fees, the billing process is mere white noise to the lawyer-client relationship. They think of legal bills as the profession's equivalent to the absurdly long drug-store receipt that we crumple up as we leave the store.