I am not sure however the discussions are interesting. Scott Turow article "The Billable Hour Must Die" in the ABA Journal www.abajournal.com this month was interesting.
The majority of my law practice involves disciplinary defense and I use flat fees exclusively in the majority of my law practice, except for NSO, HPSO, and Marsh Affinity licensure defense cases where I have to track my billable time. I am not saying by any means that I have "the" or "a" model disciplinary defense practice however I question whether insurance companies like NSO, HPSO, and Marsh Affinity will continue to pay hourly rates in these type of cases.
One reason to keep hourly billing in these cases (licensure defense where the nurses has a professional liability insurance policy) may be that the highest hourly rate paid for attorney fees in NSO/HPSO cases is $150.00 an hour. $150.00 may be considered low by attorneys in general and nurse attorneys with experience in licensure defense depending on the practice area and city/state location. Do you think a $150.00 hourly rate for nurse attorney or attorney representation in a licensure matter is reasonable?
Would you as a nurse attorney or attorney take these types of cases on a flat fee basis? If so, what factors do you think should determine the flat fee?
Why do I use flat fees? The majority of nurses don't have professsional liability insurance and have to pay for their own attorney to defend their license before the Board of Nursing. The client knows upfront how much it will cost and doesn't have to be concerned about hourly fees and costs when he or she contacts me regarding the case several times a week. I still track my time on the cases and the time spent on emails, phone meetings, and in-person meetings however I don't want to focus on billing my client for each and every minute (or shall I say every 6 minutes because I track my time in 6 minute intervals) we spend in a phone meeting or for legal or nursing standard of care research.
I would much rather speak with a prosective client about a matter, analyze and review my notes, and quote the nurse a flat fee. I tried billable hours initially when I started disciplinary defense work and I didn't like it. It didn't feel right.
Do you use flat fees or other alternative billing arrangements in your law practice? Flat fees may not work in every case however you should consider how you can incorporate flat fees into your law practice. Its liberating not be tied to a stop watch or time clock.
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