While the use of alternative fee arrangements seems to have become “the rule and not the exception,” as one New Jersey midsized firm leader put it, the use of such arrangements, and client demand for them, still varies widely by firm and practice area, it seems.

“It’s very easy to say, ‘my rate is $500 an hour,’ and dash out a retainer agreement that says that,” said Donald Scarinci of 66-lawyer Scarinci Hollenbeck in Lyndhurst. ”AFAs are outside of the comfort zone for many law firms. They don’t think in terms of the project cost.”