The billable hour. Ugh. I don’t like it, and I’m pretty sure you don’t like it either. The good news is that the bandwagon for murdering the billable hour is gaining more members every week. I came across an article about how a partner at a very large firm just penned an anti-billable hour op-ed piece for Forbes magazine. That’s pretty big news because typically big law firms are the last to adapt.
The article, “Killing the Billable Hour: One Op-Ed At a Time” is from Above the Law which is basically the go-to gossip site for us lawyer nerds.
In my practice, I use project prices (i.e. fixed fees) as much as possible. If you are interviewing a lawyer for your startup, don’t be afraid to ask for project pricing. Most of the work a startup needs can be done per project, but don’t expect a firm to handle a VC financing for a fixed fee. Although, I believe fixed fees for financings will inevitably happen. But as a general rule, the chances of using fixed fees dwindle when negotiation and multiple parties are involved in a transaction.
Ryan RobertsPartner
Ryan Roberts is a startup and venture capital attorney and partner at Roberts Zimmerman PLLC with more than two decades of experience advising high‑growth startups and venture capital investors. He is the author of Acceleration: What All Entrepreneurs Must Know About Startup Law and StartupLawyer.com
