The billable-hour system is the way most
lawyers in big firms charge clients, but it serves no one. Well, almost
no one. It brings most equity partners in those firms great wealth. Law
firm leaders call it a leveraged pyramid. Most associates call it a
living hell.
In a typical large firm, associates earn far less than the client revenues they generate. For example, a client receives an invoice totaling the number of hours each lawyer spends on the client’s matters, multiplied by the lawyer’s hourly rate, say $400 for a junior associate. Most big firms require associates to bill at least 1,900 hours a year, according to a survey last year by NALP, the Association for Legal Career Professionals.
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