“Our vote for the next important step [in law firm billing] is user-friendly Intranet sites on which clients can secure real-time access to their lawyers’ billing entries.” Part of the advocacy sections on task-based billing, in updated chapter 14 on billing written by Brackett Denniston and Alex Dimitrief of General Electric, I am surprised at this vote.
Only in the most costly matter, where the in-house lawyer genuinely seeks to manage costs – and has the ability and clout to make tough calls – might next-day billing data help the cause (See my post of Oct. 31, 2005: real-time bill information through JennerNet; May 19, 2006: disparages real-time billing information; Oct. 31, 2007: one of my predictions for the future; Dec. 16, 2007: quick review of bills by a third party; Jan. 3, 2008: increase frequency of bills on costly matters; Aug. 28, 2008: cell phone tracking of real-time billing; invoices; and Sept. 28, 2009: who needs “quick look” billing summaries.). Bob Haig’s Successful Partnering series