On Monday morning when they pick up their copies of The Recorder and read this story, untold dozens of Big Firm partners in California and elsewhere will feel a bit queasy:
In an effort to pare down its legal bills, Silicon Valley giant Cisco Systems Inc. is seeking to replace hourly billing rates from outside counsel with more creative — and cheaper — fee arrangements.
The days of “blank checks are over,” said Robert Barr, Cisco’s vice president of intellectual property and worldwide patent counsel. “We can’t afford to be surprised by the cost of litigation. We have to work within budget constraints, and we need litigation counsel to do the same.”
The most telling (and truthful) bit of the article is this:
Last year the American Bar Association’s Commission on Billable Hours released a report analyzing the pros and cons of the billable hours system and alternative billing methods. The commission concluded that over-reliance on billable hours has penalized efficient, productive lawyers, put the client at risk of paying for associate training and turnover and the padding of timesheets and helped push talented lawyers out of the profession.
In other words, it has ruined the practice of representing big corporations in civil litigation. Details here from Law.com.
In an effort to pare down its legal bills, Silicon Valley giant Cisco Systems Inc. is seeking to replace hourly billing rates from outside counsel with more creative — and cheaper — fee arrangements.
The days of “blank checks are over,” said Robert Barr, Cisco’s vice president of intellectual property and worldwide patent counsel. “We can’t afford to be surprised by the cost of litigation. We have to work within budget constraints, and we need litigation counsel to do the same.”
The most telling (and truthful) bit of the article is this:
Last year the American Bar Association’s Commission on Billable Hours released a report analyzing the pros and cons of the billable hours system and alternative billing methods. The commission concluded that over-reliance on billable hours has penalized efficient, productive lawyers, put the client at risk of paying for associate training and turnover and the padding of timesheets and helped push talented lawyers out of the profession.
In other words, it has ruined the practice of representing big corporations in civil litigation. Details here from Law.com.
On Monday morning when they pick up their copies of The Recorder and read this story, untold dozens of Big Firm partners in California and elsewhere will feel a bit queasy:
In an effort to pare down its legal bills, Silicon Valley giant Cisco Systems Inc. is seeking to replace hourly billing rates from outside counsel with more creative — and cheaper — fee arrangements.
The days of “blank checks are over,” said Robert Barr, Cisco’s vice president of intellectual property and worldwide patent counsel. “We can’t afford to be surprised by the cost of litigation. We have to work within budget constraints, and we need litigation counsel to do the same.”
The most telling (and truthful) bit of the article is this:
Last year the American Bar Association’s Commission on Billable Hours released a report analyzing the pros and cons of the billable hours system and alternative billing methods. The commission concluded that over-reliance on billable hours has penalized efficient, productive lawyers, put the client at risk of paying for associate training and turnover and the padding of timesheets and helped push talented lawyers out of the profession.
In other words, it has ruined the practice of representing big corporations in civil litigation. Details here from Law.com.
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