Real Alternatives to the Billable Hour

The vast legal industry longs to serve corporate America, but the two have continued to live in different worlds. Today's economy has affected almost every company's budget, and unfortunately, many businesses have had to make painful personnel and budget cuts. At the same time, reports surface every day that lawyers are making more money than ever, busting through the $1000 per hour mark and making record profits per partner. The spending discipline edicts that come from the CFO offices do not seem to reach the general counsel's office or, just as bad, outside lawyers continue to work on the traditional billable hour basis, which imposes no spending discipline, because "that's how things have always been done."

Hence, it is time to rethink the way that law firms are compensated for their services. Although the billable hour has long been considered the gold standard for law firm fees, the truth is that this is not always a fair or straightforward way to receive compensation. The ‘hour' that a client is billed for can often be mysterious and the client might not have any clue what work was actually being performed at that time. As such, they have no way to determine if they believe that hour was used wisely (or even used at all).

At Valorem Law Group, we approach things from a different perspective. We don't want to charge clients per every quarter or tenth of an hour, but per the value of the work we provide. It is about the value of the service, not about the time on the clock. We intensely work with clients upfront to agree upon the scope of work and what values particular results will provide to the client. Our fees, and our bills, are set accordingly. In many cases, we also utilize a third-party to perform research and other tasks that do not require the time or effort of a senior trial lawyer, as this frees up to focus on what really matters. That also means clients don't spend their time reviewing bills to ferret out inefficiencies or even offer runs, visits to Kinkos or time spent in traffic.

Here are a few examples of how Valorem (which means "value" in Latin) provides cost-saving measures to our clients:

The "Value Adjustment Line"
All invoices include a "value adjustment line" where clients can propose a different amount for any bill they believe is out of proportion with the value of the work performed. On each bill, we include our agreed upon fee. We also provide you a space to make any adjustment that you feel is needed.

Why do we do this? To demonstrate our unwavering commitment to client service, and to show you that whatever fee arrangement you have chosen, we have an economic incentive to consistently put forth our best effort. In adopting the Value Adjustment Line, Valorem is just one of two law firms in the country that are bold enough to stand behind this promise of delivering value to clients.

Shared risk equals shared goals
Valorem takes on shared risk when forming its alternative fee arrangements in order to align the interests of the firm with the goals of the client.

Outsourcing the leg work
As mentioned above, Valorem seeks to maximize efficiency in order to lower the costs for clients. Thanks to our strategic partnerships with document management and outsourcing firms, we can focus completely on our client's needs, and the client can be confident they are getting what they pay for and nothing less.

For more information on Valorem Law Groups' value-driven system or to schedule a consultation with us, please visit http://www.valoremlaw.com/