For years I have heard predictions about the “end of the billable hour.” One fellow law consultant even predicted it in her book Law and Reorder years ago. I didn’t believe it then, and I don’t believe it now. And neither do others.
Here is an excerpt from an Above The Law post article addresses this issue. As you will read, don’t count on the end of the billable hour. But keep pushing for other measures of competency and value that will help level the playing field for women in our profession. This MUST happen or we will lose far too much talent, and it will weaken or profession.
The Billable Hour Is Dead. Long Live The Billable Hour.
This isn’t a new problem.
By KATHRYN RUBINO onJanuary 5, 2022 at 5:17 PM
The billable hour has been the bane of attorneys’ existence for a long time. Even when I entered the industry 20 years ago, the billable hour was ‘dead.’ Well, it’s not dead. It’s always the way firms are going to make their money.
— Michelle Fivel, a partner at Major, Lindsey & Africa who worked at multiple Biglaw firms before becoming a recruiter, tells Law.com the industry’s reckoning with the billable hour is a long time coming. Fivel also noted the impact this dependency has on equality, “You’re only as good as the number of hours you’ve billed. That ties people to the profession in ways where men have more than women. I’d like to see the playing field leveled for women. I just don’t think it is. And I suspect that as long as the billable hour is king, it’ll always be unlevel.”
