At the Columbus office of Waite, Schneider, Bayless & Chesley, we want to create a relationship with our clients that ensures that when we represent you, your interests and our interests are fully aligned.
In our view, billing clients by the hour does not create that kind of relationship. A system in which the longer the case is pending, the more money the lawyer makes actually puts the lawyer and client at odds economically.
Thus, we are the first business law firm in Columbus to use fee agreements where we do not bill our clients by the hour, even for defense work or non-litigation matters.
The Problems with Billing Clients By The Hour
Most law firms still bill their business clients by the hour, whether it's for litigation representation or providing legal advice in response to a client's questions or concerns. Billing clients by the hour is the economic model upon which most law firms were built and upon which they are still financially dependent.
When law firms bill their clients by the hour, the only way the law firm can make more money is to bill their clients more hours or to raise the firm's hourly rates, neither of which is good for the clients. Recently, a few large law firms raised some of their lawyers' hourly rates to an incredible $1,000 per hour.
In 2002, an American Bar Association Commission found that the practice of billing by the hour had a "corrosive impact" on the client-attorney relationship. The ABA Commission found that billing clients by the hour:
- Eliminated any incentive for the lawyer to strategically plan the whole project or case at the beginning of engagement;
- Did not provide any predictability of cost for the client;
- Penalized efficient and productive lawyers and encouraged inefficiency;
- Discouraged communication between the lawyer and the client because of the client's fear of running up the fees; and
- Put the client's interest in having the matter done or resolved quickly at odds with the lawyer's interest in billing more hours and maximizing his or her revenue.
In short, always billing clients by the hour does not make the lawyer a true partner in the client's business.
Alternative, Non-Hourly Fee Agreements
At the Columbus office of Waite, Schneider, Bayless & Chesley, we prefer to share business risks with our clients. We strive to work with our clients to arrive at an alternative, non-hourly fee arrangement that encourages our mutual success and efficiency.
Depending on the nature of the legal matter or case, and depending on whether you need to be a Plaintiff or are a Defendant, we can structure an alternative fee arrangement that may take the form of:
- A contingent fee (even in defense work);
- A flat fee per project or per case (or per phase of a project or case);
- A retainer that is paid monthly, quarterly or semi-annually;
- A success fee;
- A combination of any of the above; or
- Some other structure upon which we and our client agree.
We believe that sophisticated clients understand that in the long run, having a law firm that appreciates and shares in the your risks provides the best value to the client.
Explore Your Alternatives With Us
Our groundbreaking approach to setting legal fees has been profiled in Columbus Business First, the Cincinnati Business Courier, the Columbus Dispatch, and the ABA Journal.
To learn more about how your business can benefit from having a law firm that won't bill you every time you pick up the phone to call your lawyer, contact us at 614-223-0000.
You can also learn more by visiting Mike Grodhaus' legal blog on alternative fee arrangements, The Alternative Fee Lawyer.
Waite, Schneider, Bayless & Chesley
Attorneys and Counselors at Law
107 South High Street, Suite 450
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: 614-223-0000
Fax: 614-341-2354
Waite, Schneider, Bayless & Chesley
Attorneys and Counselors at Law
1513 Fourth & Vine Tower
Cincinnati, OH 45202
http://www.wsbclaw.com/
Phone: 513-621-0267
Fax: 513-381-2375
Waite, Schneider, Bayless & Chesley serves the cities of Columbus, Toledo, Cleveland, Akron, Canton, Youngstown, Warren, Dayton, Springfield and Cincinnati, Ohio.