Re: Re: Fraud

Oh, c'mon! The questions are disclosure of the rate at which it will be billed and the types of things that will be billed. I have never seen a firm disclose to a client the costs of the associate for which it charges $500,000 per year when it pays the $80,000 and the associate "costs" the firm $120,000 additional per associate (room, support staff, etc.). Nor the costs for partners, etc.

If a firm wishes to bill $150 per hour for research plus $70 per hour of westlaw research, and the client will pay for it, then how is that different from billing $185 for the hour of the associate's time half of which was spent on westlaw?

Some firms, given the free legal information online now are going back to just charging for the attorney's time and not using the expensive resources as often or as thoughtlessly.

West needs to have sufficient value-added when compared to free sources or people will not pay for it. When clients complain, attorneys respond.

Also, who are the clients? Many may be relatively unsophisticated, but many know the game fully, having come from practice to work in house. And many trade organizations do sessions on attorney billing practices for those who want to learn it.

The attorneys will get paid and will charge according to the same way pretty much every other service gets billed -- what the market deems the service to be worth.

To say "I'm charging you $70 per hour for Westlaw research in addition to the attorney's or paralegal's or law clerk's time," is to do nothing wrong even if the direct cost of Westlaw is only $35.00 per hour. The phone lines, internet connection, intranet network, hardware and software all cost money too, and if some of that overhead is put into online research, then so be it.

If the attorney represents the Westlaw research as a straight pass-through, and then does a mark up of any sort, that would be wrong.   But absent an expressly misleading statement, then there is nothing wrong with it -- except that some of us may (and I do) object to the business model of lawyering, still having a romantic concept of it being a profession. And if it is a profession, then the charges should be just for the lawyer's time and services.

How about doctors? The time the doctor is with you -- $400 for a 12 minute consult. Plus fees for lab work, plus fees for meds, plus, plus, plus. And then the hospital visit -- all the separate fees there.

BTW, colleges do this now too -- fees for library, activities, networking, phones, etc., etc., in addition to the room, board, and tuition. Some still do a "comprehensive fee," perhaps, but most have found they get more by fee per service.

Steve

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-- 
Prof. Steven D. Jamar                                     vox:  
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Howard University School of Law                           fax:  
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