Slate Magazine predicts the decline of the billable hour — at least in some cases — in a provocative article posted yesterday. It seems the natives are restless in the U.S., where large corporate clients are increasingly willing to squeeze their legal counsel for more favourable payment schemes. Volume discounts, flat fees, demanding that basic work be done by paralegals and temps instead of those oh-so-pricey junior associates, and other cost-cutting strategies are whittling down legal costs for large clients on a budget.
The billable hour rate, which the article notes has nosed above US$1,000 at the top end of the scale, won’t go away entirely, though. The article foresees a kind of multi-tiered caste system in which the top rank of firms charges (exorbitantly) by the hour for premium “white-shoe” service, mid-range firms hustle deals for whatever business they can get, and an underclass of outsource document reviewers and photocopy jockeys club each other for the scraps. The horror.