The billable hour’s enduring value in the age of AI

New technologies can and will force changes to practice methodologies, but – for some lawyers and firms – the...

08 April 2025

By Jerome Doraisamy

Maurice Blackburn’s fight with employees over pay ramps up

Unionised lawyers and staff at Maurice Blackburn Lawyers will engage in industrial action, setting the stage for a...

05 March 2025

By Jerome Doraisamy

‘Natural to expect’ firm costs will reflect AI-inspired efficiency

Not only should the increasing use of artificial intelligence by external providers have a flow-on effect on charge-out...

21 January 2025

By Jerome Doraisamy

The billable hour may be incompatible with GenAI innovation

In the face of client perceptions about their providers’ use or otherwise of generative AI, we may soon see more...

29 October 2024

By Jerome Doraisamy

Fixed fee, alternate pricing arrangements increasingly offered by firms

The number of Australian law firms providing fixed fee and alternate pricing arrangements continues to grow, according...

30 September 2024

By Jerome Doraisamy

Measure value (not time, clicks or keystrokes)

Contemporary leaders in legal workplaces need to re-evaluate what value creation looks like, writes Travis...

14 February 2024

By Jerome Doraisamy

Value of briefs to women barristers highlights ongoing gender pay issues in law

While new data from the Law Council shows that targets are being met on equitable briefing rates, the percentage of...

19 December 2023

By Jerome Doraisamy

‘Alternate billing’ benefits client relationship, work quality and culture, explains director

One director discusses the alternate billing model her firm employs and its positive effects on relationships with...

30 March 2023

By Jess Feyder

ChatGPT’s rise means billable hours will ‘inevitably decline’

The time-based billing model has come under significant scrutiny in recent years, and now, with the emergence of...

20 February 2023

By Jerome Doraisamy

Partners billing more post-pandemic

New research shows that not only are law firm partners bearing a markedly greater load in billable hours, but their job...

06 September 2022

By Jerome Doraisamy

How many firms use tech for billing?

New research offers insights into the extent to which boutique law firms utilise tech platforms to manage their billing...

28 October 2021

By Jerome Doraisamy

Are small firms too willing to write off fees?

New research reveals troubling shortcomings in the billing practices of small law firms across Australia. Firms have,...

21 October 2021

By Jerome Doraisamy

‘Time-based billing is still an important option’

Whilst many law firms are opting for alternative pricing, lawyers can still learn a lot from time-based...

31 August 2021

By Jerome Doraisamy

The Boutique Lawyer Show: Ensuring better billing hygiene

SME law firms whose billing practices are haphazard and infrequent not only run the risk of having poor business...

23 June 2021

By Robyn Tongol

Explaining why lawyers can (and should) bill more

Too often, the invoices issued by lawyers are not commensurate with the work undertaken. Here, Ben Deverson outlines...

03 June 2021

By Jerome Doraisamy

Lawyers need to stop undercharging

Too many practitioners and firms are overly generous with their billing and fee structures. This needs to change,...

10 May 2021

By Jerome Doraisamy

How you can reduce your legal spend by 20% with automated billing guidelines

Promoted by Brightflag. Reviewing invoices from outside counsel against billing guidelines is part of the job...

20 September 2019

Promoted by Julius Ponce

Time billing will survive

A legal consultant who counts a number of large law firms as clients has hit back at commentary that the billable hour...

23 July 2014

By Priya Murthy

Time billing has DLA counting the cost

The financial incentives of racking up billable hours are behind what has been described as “perverse behaviours”...

28 March 2013

By Priya Murthy

Value-based billing to have its Day

In-house lawyers are getting fed up with firms that don’t embrace value-based billing, the head of group legal at the...

06 March 2013

By Priya Murthy