
It's Time to Destoy the Billable Hour - pchristensen
http://walkercorporatelaw.com/lawyers/its-time-to-destroy-the-billable-hour/
======
byrneseyeview
The fundamental economic problem of the legal profession is this: a good
lawyer can make a snap judgment that saves a company many millions of dollars.
But for whatever reason, people get really ticked off at this kind of
conversation:

"So, should we sign this agreement with our supplier, or not?"

"Well, I know the answer, and I'll tell you for five million dollars. Keep in
mind that answering this right will save you fifty million dollars."

"Fuck you."

So instead of charging the market price for insight, they charge way, _way_
above the market price for research, high-end secretarial work, etc. This is
less efficient in terms of wealth generated per hour, but more efficient in
terms of capturing the wealth generated by knowing the law.

------
walkercorplaw
the issue i was trying to raise is why the hell are entrepreneurs paying their
law firms by the hour. it just rewards inefficiency, overstaffing and padding.

~~~
cperciva
Maybe I'm being a bit naive here, but... if you can't trust your lawyers,
shouldn't you find some new lawyers?

I would hope that a lawyer interested in a long and mutually profitable
relationship with a client would forgo the potential short-term profits he
could reap by padding his bills.

