Smarter Accountants and Lawyers

Here are a couple of interesting follow ups to my post on legal business models:

The first is from the Journal of Accountancy here. It profiles accounting firms that are looking to create models based on value rather than time. The article profiles four firms that are blazing trails in this endeavor because, although my title implies otherwise, most accountants are in the same boat with lawyers–they are selling time, not value. Read more

Lawyers Undervalue Their Services

The New York Times reports today here that economic hard times are putting pressure on high-priced lawyers.  Some ask whether it is time to end the practice of the billable hour. This is a really interesting question.

The “best” lawyers bill hundreds of dollars per hour. In the Times article, one firm is reported to regularly charge $800 per hour for their most senior partners. Even these firms (or especially?) are apparently accepting fixed fee arrangements with some clients.

This trend would actually be a great thing for the legal industry, but maybe not for the reason that you might think. Read more