by Traverse Legal, reviewed by Enrico Schaefer - August 17, 2007 - 'The Greatest' Philosophy, The Billable Hour
Lawyers who bill by the hour typically spend their time thinking about hours rather than results. Few hourly billing attorneys tell their client what they will be delivering and the costs upfront.
Once deliverable are defined, a value billing attorney simply asks himself/herself the same question each moment of each day: "how do I deliver the deliverables I have promised the client?"
Instead of cases just meandering forward, each day the lawyer’s required to think strategically. The lawyer has to anticipate what moves on offense need to occur in order to achieve the result. The lawyer has tremendous incentive to achieve that result sooner, rather than later. This is because hours of time now count against him/her in contrast to the hourly billing approach where hours count against the client.
The best part about value billing is that it requires the lawyer to think strategically, offensively and proactively every single day. A value billing attorney constantly reviews their case to see what can and should happen next.
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.
