I continue to hold out hope that alternative billing methods will gain a true foot-hold in the legal profession. Thus far, my hopes have been dashed. Yet the possibility of this type of change continues to intrigue me.
From all that I hear, more sophisticated clients will have alternative billing as a key question on their list of questions. The recent economic troubles have even driven this question to be one of cost savings. As in ‘what sort of alternative billing methods can you employ to lower our legal spend?’
So what does KM have to do with Alternative Billing (AB)?
Everything.
The reason law firms always site for why AB won’t work, is their inability to pre-determine the costs associated with a matter. “There are too many variables.” “Clients will abuse this.” “We don’t know how to deliver under that kind of budget pressure.”
KM is the tool that will answer these questions. As I ponder where KM may have its best chances at a firm, mastering alternative billing is an enticing option.