The Harmony of Many Voices

By Eryn Carter, CAE

February 2024

When many people are talking about a single topic, the discourse can seem loud and indecipherable. But sometimes, the conversation can be wonderfully harmonious, leaving us wanting more.

In legal, the billable hour is one of the topics that is much-discussed and yet continues to evolve. Of course, the billable hour conversation is not new. In a recent article introducing himself to readers as the new Editor of The American Lawyer, David Gialanella quips that he was writing feature articles as far back as 2008 asking if the death of the billable hour is coming.

Today’s realities show that compensation structures for attorneys continue to change. Some law firms and legal departments may offer billable hour credits or reduced billable hour expectations for attorneys actively engaged in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) activities. This recognizes that time spent on DEI initiatives is valuable to the firm’s overall goals.

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is also driving a shift toward flat rates and alternate fee arrangements. Law.com reporter Andrew Maloney reports that, “Average billing rate increases were high last year, perhaps historically so, and some industry observers already expect a similar 2024.” Highlighting the many different — and sometimes contradictory — perspectives about the billable hour, Ken Crutchfield, Vice President and General Manager of Legal Markets at Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S. predicts that generative AI will have all the following effects on law firms:

Rates will go up.
Rates will go down.
Work will shift to alternate fee arrangements.
Work will go in-house.

Whether you agree with Crutchfield or not, the conversations continue, including among ALA’s members. ALA’s Online Community is the forum where members can share their unique experiences and challenges about developing and administering billable hours policies and protocols. Members can also ask their peers questions about how their firms are tackling the issue of billable hours and learn how it is being addressed in firms and organizations of varying sizes, structures and practice areas.

“Today’s realities show that compensation structures for attorneys continue to change. Some law firms and legal departments may offer billable hour credits or reduced billable hour expectations for attorneys actively engaged in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) activities.”

ALA has provided insights on the topic in the content we make available such as:

In this issue of Legal Management, the cover story, “How Law Firms Are Achieving Billable Hour Success,” describes the many ways firms are adapting and modernizing their billable hour policies to keep clients happy.
The Legal Management article “How to Ease Time Tracking Struggles” discusses how to make sure time tracking is done efficiently and accurately.
ALA’s Compensation and Benefits Survey offers insight into how firms decide billable hour goals for attorneys and paralegals.

Plus, stay tuned to Legal Management Talk in March, when ALA’s podcast will have an episode on the billable hour and other arrangements, such as value-based pricing.

Despite the large and often crowded chorus of people lending their voices to the topic of billable hours, ALA’s unique voices blend with harmonious clarity that enable our members, business partners and staff to succeed in a future that requires innovative thinking and agile responsiveness to change.