The Billable Hour
Understanding Traditional Legal Billing
A billing method where attorneys charge clients based on time spent working on their matters. Time is tracked in 6-minute increments (0.1 hours), and clients are billed monthly for total hours mutilpled by the hourly rate.
Tomorrow's Lawyers
Richard Susskind argues that the traditional billable hour model is "unsustainable" → it discourages efficiency, rewards time over value, and leaves clients unable to predict what legal help will cost.
Legal services must become more accessible, affordable, and predictable.
The Susskind Paradox
Hourly billing rewards inefficiency
Longer = more revenue for firm
Clients can't budget or plan
Attorney Apprehension
Loss of Revenue
Without reliable data, setting flat fees feels like guesswork — price too low and you're working for free, price too high and you lose the client.
Shifting away from billable hours can disrupt how partners are compensated — and nobody wants to be the one proposing that conversation.
When matters grow beyond the original scope (and they always do), there's no built-in mechanism to capture that extra work.
Loss of Productivity
Attorneys spend hours researching what to charge for flat fees — time that used to go toward actual client work.
The mental load of wondering "am I pricing this right?" on every new matter creates decision fatigue that quietly chips away at focus and output.
The Cost Anxiety Epidemic
54%
of small businesses with legal issues don't hire an attorney
LeanLaw/Thomson Reuters Research
40%
cite cost as the primary reason for avoiding legal help
LeanLaw/Thomson Reuters Research
“The billable hour rewards effort, not efficiency.”
— Mark Herrmann, former General Counsel, Aon
Client Concerns
Budget Anxiety
A "simple" contract review might cost $2,000 or $8,000 — clients can't plan legal spend
Fear of Calling
Clients mentally calculate "$50 for a 10-minute call" and hold back from asking questions
Bill Shock
The moment of truth when the invoice arrives — often far exceeding expectations
Trust Erosion
Clients sense their lawyer benefits from taking longer — misaligned incentives
The Communication Barrier
"Clients hold back from calling their lawyer with quick questions because they're mentally calculating '$50 for a 10-minute call.'"
Rocket Lawyer Survey, SCORE Small Business Report
Small questions go unasked
Leading to bigger problems later
Attorney-client relationship suffers
Trust and outcomes decline