The law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore will soon change the way it bills its time.  Apparently, managing partner Evan Chesler recognizes that open-ended hourly billing simply cannot continue and that clients should, in some way, know what they’re paying for.

How refreshing.  But wholesale change will be hard to swallow.

The challenge of how to bill for a given project is age-old.  One can’t simply say this is THE billing structure that works. 

We have three methods of billing at BCI: hourly, project and monthly retainer.  Each has its own advantages and disadvantages.  Each works for different types of clients and projects.

But, at the end of the day, what makes our client relationships work is that we are flexible, accountable and always willing to work out an agreement.

I recently asked a client why he chose us.  His answer, paraphrased, was that he liked our honesty and his ability to back out, with 30 days’ written notice, at any time.  To him, that spoke volumes in confidence.  The message he (correctly) heard was: We will deliver and if not, fire us.