Pricing Billing Rates

The American Lawyer |News

An Accreditation Seeks to 'Professionalize' Law Firm Pricing Directors

Roy Strom | July 20, 2018

Law firm pricing professionals have a new way to show partners that pricing advice is worth their time.

New York Law Journal |News

Blasting Greenberg Traurig Request, Judge Says Fees 'Zooming Out of Control'

Christine Simmons | July 13, 2018

“By requesting astronomical fees, attorneys are in danger of killing the goose that laid the golden egg,” a Manhattan judge admonished.

National Law Journal |News

Judge Appoints Special Master in Flint Water Contamination Case

Amanda Bronstad | June 20, 2018

A federal judge in Michigan has refused to remove lead attorneys in the Flint water contamination case but plans to bring in a special master to review their fees and expenses.

Corporate Counsel |Q&A

Q&A With Hearst's Legal Operations Director

Scott Forman | June 11, 2018

Scott Forman spoke with An Trotter, senior director of operations at Hearst and a pioneer in strategic legal operations.

Daily Report Online |Commentary

Be Aware of Limits on Attorney-Client Agreements

Shari L. Klevens and Alanna Clair | June 04, 2018

Given the special nature of the attorney-client relationship and the duties involved in such a relationship, attorneys cannot represent just any client who wants to hire them.

New York Law Journal |News

Special Master Eying Cohen Raid Materials Hands in $47K Invoice for April

Colby Hamilton | May 29, 2018

Bracewell partner Barbara Jones' $700 per hour rate was applied to work done in April in the review of material seized by the government from Michael Cohen's offices and home.

The Recorder |Analysis

Hourly Rate Gap Widens as Top Billers at Biggest Firms Leave Others Behind

Ryan Lovelace | May 17, 2018

It's easy to be impressed by individual partner rates approaching $2,000 an hour, but the widening gap between whole categories of law firms may mean more for the industry's future.

The American Lawyer |News

Long Live the Billable Hour? The Twittersphere Reacts to a Top Biller

Brenda Sapino Jeffreys | May 15, 2018

Not all lawyers looked kindly upon the 3,600 hours one lawyer billed in 2017.

New York Law Journal |

Litigation Finance as a Tool to Increase Law Firm Rate Realization

Ross Wallin | May 04, 2018

Litigation finance can offer a middle path for law firms to recover 50-75 percent of their rack rates on an ongoing basis, while retaining upside in the form of a success fee that often pushes realizations to 125 percent or more of rack rates.

New York Law Journal |News

Court System Officials Want To See More ADR in New York

Andrew Denney | April 27, 2018

New York state court system officials are pushing forward with an effort to increase the use of alternative dispute resolution in the courts, which they say is an underused method of helping to move cases more quickly through the pipeline.

The American Lawyer |News

With Help From New Law, This Legal Department is Firing its Outside Counsel

Roy Strom | April 24, 2018

Univar Inc. is working with Elevate and a new Elevate-affiliated law firm to find new ways of doing legal work that it claims will result in 50 percent savings for its $10.5 million legal budget. "Law Land is not special," said Univar's general counsel.

New York Law Journal |

The Unique Place for Midsize Firms in Today's Legal Market

Alan Tarter | April 20, 2018

With the demand for change in the legal industry pushing firms to innovate on behalf of their clients and employees, midsize law firms are ideally positioned to succeed with their nimble infrastructures and ability to quickly adapt to market trends.

Daily Report Online |News

Delta's Top Lawyer 'Begging' for Project-Based Billing

Kristen Rasmussen | April 16, 2018

The issue of alternative fee arrangements was among many topics that Delta's Peter Carter and other top lawyers at Fortune 500 companies, including UPS, AIG and Union Pacific, discussed during a panel at the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association's Southeast Regional Conference in Atlanta last week.

Law.Com |Podcast

How to Take the Fear and Loathing Out of the RFP Process

Leigh Jones | Vanessa Blum | April 13, 2018

The experience can be cumbersome and anxiety-inducing for both sides of the equation, and it can end badly. And sometimes, it works brilliantly.

Connecticut Law Tribune |Expert Opinion

Reducing Collections Lawsuits Through Effective Billing Practices

Alanna G. Clair and Shari L. Klevens | April 10, 2018

Many attorneys will put off the decision of whether to pursue a client for unpaid legal fees until the end of the calendar year.

Daily Business Review |News

Spoiler Alert: Most of South Florida's Top Law Firm Billers Are Men

Samantha Joseph | March 19, 2018

Find out who's charging what in our annual survey of attorney billing rates.

Connecticut Law Tribune |News

Class Action Moves Forward Against Cigna for Alleged Prescription Drug Overcharging

Robert Storace | March 14, 2018

A federal judge in Connecticut ruled Monday for five plaintiffs, who sued alleging an artificial inflation of prescription drug costs. The case, which was not dismissed, will now go into discovery phase.

Corporate Counsel |News

Global Law Firm Network Report Suggests Tougher Competition for Big Law

Sue Reisinger | March 13, 2018

The report said the results “reaffirm the widely held belief that today's GCs are continuing their quest to find a panacea for the provision of their global legal services–a provider that combines high quality service, a global footprint, local insight and cultural awareness."

Daily Business Review |News

Greenberg Traurig Wins $1.2 Million in Attorney Fees for Years of Litigation

Samantha Joseph | March 12, 2018

Greenberg Traurig's Stephen Mendelsohn worked on one of the longest-running disputes in the Palm Beach Circuit Court.

Daily Business Review |Best Practices News

We Need to Talk About Lawyers' Behind-the-Scenes Help to Pro Se Clients

Samantha Joseph | March 09, 2018

"It's a rule that's still in its infancy," ethics lawyer Andrew Berman said. "It's still trying to find its equilibrium.”

National Law Journal |Expert Opinion Investigation News

Special Master Delays High-Stakes Report on $75M Class Action Fee Request

Amanda Bronstad | March 06, 2018

A special master looking into potential overbilling in a $75 million attorney fee request has delayed the findings of a report he said could have “serious and far-reaching adverse ramifications” for plaintiffs firms in the case and “for the practice of the plaintiffs' class action bar.”

Slideshow

Daily Business Review |Best Practices News

South Florida Firm in Hot Water for Ghostwriting Pleadings for Pro Se Defendants

Samantha Joseph | February 27, 2018

The firm says there's widespread ignorance about a rule that allows it to write, but not sign, documents prepared for litigants representing themselves in court.

Law.Com |

The Billable Hour: Can Lawyers Learn from Consultants?

Erin Hichman | February 27, 2018

The legal industry now faces similar pressures from clients on billing models that the consulting industry previously confronted.

The American Lawyer |News

A Win for Weil as Takata Reaches Bankruptcy Deal

Roy Strom | February 13, 2018

Takata Corp.'s U.S. unit has reached an agreement with lawyers for victims of the Japanese auto parts company's faulty air bags, which could mean an end to a bankruptcy that was paying about $2.5 million a month to Weil, Gotshal & Manges.

The American Lawyer |Analysis

What the Legal Industry Can Learn From SpaceX's Success

Roy Strom | January 26, 2018

Elon Musk's Space Exploration Technologies drastically altered the economics of rocket science. Can a similar approach be used to cut costs in the legal industry?