The most widely read magazine for Canadian lawyers
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/207765
conundrum The billing This year's Canadian Lawyer Corporate Counsel Survey shows in-house counsel and law firms continue to struggle with the best way to bill legal services. I By Jennifer Brown n-house counsel are expecting to take on more work internally next year to handle growth in their companies, but the management of their external law firm spending remains an ongoing challenge they wrestle with in an attempt to find value and meet budgets. Responses to the 2013 Canadian Lawyer Corporate Counsel Survey indicate there is some traction being made in different ways of negotiating billing arrangements with law firms, but the billable hour remains No. 1. The fact 55.2 per cent selected hourly billing as their arrangement of choice doesn't surprise Steven Trumper, vice president and general counsel at Build Toronto Inc. He defends the choice and says it can be applied in a variety of ways that bring value and doesn't have to mean an expensive or ineffective outcome. "I agree with the survey — most matters are billed out on an hourly basis now. My business is very transaction-oriented so it's hard to do fixed-fee arrangements because there are so many twists and turns. It's not commodity work; it's very specialized," he says. The prominence of hourly billing is a systemic issue says Terrie-Lynne Devonish, chief counsel with Aon Consulting Inc. Canada. "Law firms are designed around a time and materials formula for billing and most in-house counsel come from firms who use this billing model, so it is not a surprise that we all still use this model. I think we all need to be more proactive and creative in experimenting with and using [alternative fee arrangements]," says Devonish. "I would like to see law firms be more proactive in offering AFAs to their clients and I always appreciate it when a law firm is flexible about their billing model." This year, just under 300 law department leaders from Canadian corporations and government participated in the Canadian Lawyer survey. The balance of respondents indi38 November/December 2013 www.CANADIAN L a w ye r m a g . c o m