Conclusion
No system of charging for legal services is perfect. And if one spends too much time focusing on the subject, one risks “paralysis through analysis” — the state in which every option, including the status quo, seems so flawed that one finds it very hard either to make a change or to positively commit to not changing.
But if this book has achieved anything, it has been to draw attention to the fundamental flaws of the billable hour. The case to try other options is compelling. The alternatives are not without problems, but they are better.
There is good reason to believe that alternative billing is making advances. However, there is little prospect that the “alternatives” will become the norm. Being an alternative biller is a little like being a Mac user in a Windows world — one smugly uses a system that is widely regarded as superior, but that nonetheless has a single-digit market share. Go figure.
Indeed, what is frustrating about the billable hour is its seeming invulnerability despite the singular lack of enthusiasm among those who labor daily under its burden.
So here is a challenge: If the billable hour is to reign supreme, it should at least have a good advocate. Someone should write Hurray for Billable Hours — a book designed to extoll its virtues and answer its critics. There is no such book at present. Let there be a better debate.
But I suspect that no one will write such a book. Because there really wouldn’t be much to say.
Prove me wrong if you disagree.
Entire contents © 2008 John Derrick