FM07 The ABCs of AFAs

Are billable hours soon to be a thing of the past? Clients are demanding — and more and more firms are looking into — alternative pricing strategies, including fixed fee arrangements. But are these types of arrangements workable for your firm? Can your accounting software handle the change? What is the impact of these arrangements on other areas in finance, like reporting and associate compensation? Join this session to learn how to help your firm deal with the impact of alternative fee arrangements and how to accomplish the change to the mutual benefit of both you and your clients.

Goals:

• Identify some of the most popular alternative fee arrangements

• Discuss some of the benefits and challenges of alternative fee arrangements and their impact on your firm

• Illustrate how to create "alternative" fee structures that deliver value on something other than just hours spent

Patrick Lamb is a founding member of Valorem Law Group. Valorem represents corporate clients in business disputes. It is at the forefront of helping clients solve their business disputes and cope with pressures to reduce legal spending using non-traditional approaches. Lamb is the author of Alternative Fee Arrangements: Value Fees and the Changing Legal Market (Ark 2010). He also blogs at In Search Of Perfect Client Service.

Audience

Attendees should have a working knowledge of alternative pricing strategies.

CPE: Management Advisory Services