Although firms increasingly are experimenting with flat fees and alternative billing arrangements, billing by the hour remains the norm for most legal work. Furthermore, nearly all large firms use billable hours as a component in determining partner compensation, and the vast majority tie associate base compensation and bonuses to hours. Therefore, in a lawyer’s life, time literally is money.
The great advantage of hourly billing is that it allows lawyers to readily plan and measure their productivity. A significant downside, however, is the incredible pressure placed on attorneys to continually increase their workload to maximize profits.
