Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

Accounting and Financial Planning for Law FirmsLJN NewslettersNewsSections

Billing for Recycled Work: A Follow-up Exchange of Views

By ALM Staff | Law Journal Newsletters |
October 01, 2003

In a recent edition, Professor William G. Ross analyzed the professional ethics restrictions incumbent upon lawyers who want to bill by the hour for previously produced work product. (“The Ethics of Billing by the Hour for 'Recycled' Work,” August 2003.)

Attorney readers with file drawers full of valuable prior work product surely felt some dismay in reading these restrictions. Ed Poll – a prominent law firm consultant, ABA-published authority on improving law firm billing methods, and Board member of this newsletter – succinctly articulates this sentiment as “Damned if you do and damned if you don't!” Poll recognizes that inflating time reports when using recycled work product is “like a butcher putting a thumb on the scale”; but that illicit maneuver persists, he says, because lawyers have not had a practical alternative that reflects marketplace realities.

This premium content is locked for Accounting and Financial Planning for Law Firms subscribers only

  • Stay current on the latest information, rulings, regulations, and trends
  • Includes practical, must-have information on copyrights, royalties, AI, and more
  • Tap into expert guidance from top entertainment lawyers and experts

For enterprise-wide or corporate acess, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or 877-256-2473

Read These Next
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later Image

The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.

The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs Image

The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.

Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations Image

This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.

Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough Image

There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.

Compliance Officers: Recent Regulatory Guidance and Enforcement Actions and Mitigating the Risk of Personal Liability Image

This article explores legal developments over the past year that may impact compliance officer personal liability.