U.K. Legal Survey Shows Same Client Concerns Over The Billable Hour

I found this post yesterday about a new report on the legal market in Great Britain entitled "The Law Firm of the 21st Century." The article notes several interesting responses to the survey conducted of both U.K. law firms and "general counsel, legal and financial directors at 50 of the world’s most prominent companies." Not surpisingly, billing was one of the major areas surveyed:

"Rising fees and the cost of buying legal advice is the key concern among clients, with over half (55 percent) believing that the current growth in law firm fees was not sustainable. Controlling costs is a major concern for clients who are increasingly calling on their legal providers to justify fees and over half (53 percent) thought that lawyers needed to be more commercial and align themselves to their clients’ business. But many top law firm partners are out of sync with their clients, with only 21 percent of them mentioning the need to control costs or add value as a concern.

"The study highlighted the ambivalence lawyers and their clients have to the hourly rate. While most partners (82%) and clients (86%) believe the hourly rate will be alive and well in ten years time, most acknowledged that it was not the most advantageous billing process for clients. A third of clients (32%), in turn, expressed their deep dislike for the billable hour."

Clients wanting their lawyers to be more aligned with their businesses. Clients believing that the billable hour is not the most advantageous way to bill them. It seems some sentiments are universal and not just limited to clients in the USA.