by Traverse Legal, reviewed by Enrico Schaefer - August 31, 2005 - 'The Greatest' Philosophy, Alternative Billing, The Billable Hour
I would encourage all lawyers to develop a list of items which they bill for and items that they don’t bill for. Some of my clients still prefer hourly billing. The difference in my law firm is that only certain items actually get billed. The litmus test for all of them is whether or not the activity is adding value to solving the client’s legal issue. Other administrative items, such as transmittals, filing, shuffling of paper, getting up to speed, scheduling and short telephone calls do not result in charges to the client.
Many firms would choke at such an approach and focus on the lost revenue. The funny thing is, I don’t seem to be losing money. My revenue model is strong. More importantly, my client relationships are even stronger. Instead of handling one legal matter for a client, my clients are retaining me on a variety of different matters. And my virtual paralegals are there for constant support and problem solving.
As a founding partner of Traverse Legal, PLC, he has more than thirty years of experience as an attorney for both established companies and emerging start-ups. His extensive experience includes navigating technology law matters and complex litigation throughout the United States.
This page has been written, edited, and reviewed by a team of legal writers following our comprehensive editorial guidelines. This page was approved by attorney Enrico Schaefer, who has more than 20 years of legal experience as a practicing Business, IP, and Technology Law litigation attorney.
