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Standing Near the Cliff Edge

By William C. Cobb

There is a tsunami wave coming to law firms caused by an earthquake out there called value billing. Every law firm, small to large, will be affected. The wave will wipe out and suck out to sea the old guild culture, organizational structure, the products and services, and the compensation systems. Although the idea has been around since the publication of books in 1989 and 1992, titled Beyond the Billable Hour and Win-Win Billing Strategies, respectively, there has been little progress throughout the legal profession. Lawyers still expect to bill by the hour based upon the false assumption that effort equals value. Clients are changing their views of value added. We are entering a new era where law firms must change the way they must serve clients and value partner contributions.

What the printing press did to the priest and rabbis when people could read the Bible and make their own conclusions, the Internet will do to lawyers. At the same time, what the bloggers have done to the major news networks' monopoly on the news will affect the way lawyers give advice. The legal profession has operated under a guild culture since the inception of the profession, but the world has changed. Guilds are the association of persons of the same trade or pursuits, formed to protect mutual interests and maintain standards within the context of their own production of personal products. The legal profession is a guild. A Wall Street Journal article on the decision to kill the multi-disciplined practice had the following to say:

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