One of the "dirty little secrets" of the legal industry (and the consulting industry) is that the way lawyers get paid does not always align with client objectives (understatement). In this month's ABA Journal Scott Turow has an interesting piece entitled "Why the Billable Hour Must Die". While that may not happen any time soon, it is fair to say that the billable hour is coming under intense pressure in certain circles. The general counsel of Cisco fired the shot heard round the legal world in this speech (also featured in this month's ABA journal, see "New Routes to the Corporate Door) and the ideas articulated there are starting to gather momentum.
The bottom line is that inefficiency in the delivery of legal services will no longer be rewarded, at least not vis-a-vis sophisticated clients. You can be sure that most clients worth having will become more and more sophisticated over time and that the legal industry cannot escape the economic realities that are driving the global economy. The "change or die" mantra will leave no industry unscathed, and particularly pure knowledge-based industries such as the law.
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