Thanks to The Greatest American Lawyer for pointing out Lawyers Weekly USA’s article by Sylvia Hsieh on alternatives to hourly billing by small firms.
In an earlier post I pointed out how I believe small firms can get an advantage on larger firms by proposing alternative fee arrangements. Sylvia points out that “[S]mall firms have an easier time switching to new billing methods” due in part to larger firms’ high cash flow needs. She also quotes Jim Calloway whose blog was the basis of my earlier missive.
Sylvia mentions four fee arrangements:
*Flat Fee (the most common alternative) – but make sure you know what your costs will be to deliver your services;
*Variations on Contingency Fee – not restricted to personal injury cases,
*Blended Fees – such as flat fees for certain deliverables, and a success fee, and
*Budgeted Fees – commonly used in litigation, and often with conditions if budget is exceeded.
A number of variations in her four examples makes this piece all the more worth a look.
