THE LAWYERS WEEKLY
November 19, 2010 | 23
BUSINESS
CAREERS
EXPERIENCE
Per cent that
have associate
experience
21. 7
Per cent that
have associate
experience
63
Associate experience
3.65 years
Associate experience
5 years
2000
2009
over the past decade, while adoption of Internet-based systems to
manage legal work increased by
285 per cent over the same period.
(E-billing experienced an even
more dramatic rise in usage at the
astronomical rate of 3,064 per
cent, from 1.1 per cent in 2000 to
34.8 per cent in 2009.)
Merklinger said in-house
counsel can use centralized data
to identify trends in spending and
use that information to “predict
budgets, find efficiencies, improve
processes and even to incentivize
outside counsel.”
“If a certain type of case trad-
itionally cost $100,000 and a law
firm can get it resolved for
$50,000, a law department could
offer to split the difference and
save $25,000 and give the law
firm a bonus.”
But, as he added, in-house
counsel still “calls the shots.” Merk-
linger added that while the results
are from U.S.-based in-house
counsel, many ACC member law
departments are multinational
and therefore deal with external
counsel around the world.
More survey results can
be found at www.acc.com +
Overbilling
Continued From Page 20
members” and have granted law-
yers “a very wide berth to bill in
ways that provide them with the
greatest financial gain.”
Ultimately, lawyers and law
firms are responsible for how they
bill. Nevertheless, as Halina dem-
onstrates, law societies bear sig-
nificant blame for failing to pro-
tect the public from being gouged.
She argues that law societies do
not provide sufficient guidelines
on acceptable billing practices.
Nor do they provide effective pro-
tection for clients who are over-
billed. Worse still, in the vast
majority of cases they fail to disci-
pline lawyers who overcharge cli-
ents, unless fraud is involved.
Minimal guidelines
Halina lambastes the law societies for their lack of sufficient
rules on billing practices. All that
law societies require is that a lawyer’s fees be “fair and reasonable.”
The Rules of Professional Conduct
do provide brief commentary on
factors that can be used to assess
whether a lawyer’s fees meet this
criteria, such as the time and effort
involved. Also the rules stipulate
that lawyers must separate fees
from disbursements when rendering a statement of accounts.
Beyond these mostly vague
requirements, the rules provide
no guidance on how to bill or how
much to bill.
Lawyers may provide monthly
detailed invoices itemizing each
task performed on behalf of a
client or they may simply present
their client with a lump sum bill at
the conclusion of a matter.
As for “fair and reasonable” fees
this appears to be based on how
much the market will bear with
some Bay Street lawyers charging
close to $1,000 per hour.
Challenging legal bills
Almost as bad as being overcharged for legal work is the law
societies’ unwillingness to hear
fee disputes, Halina argues. In the
event that clients believe they
have been overcharged by their
lawyer, they must apply to court
within 30 days of receipt of the
bill to have it assessed, under
Ontario’s Solicitors Act.
How can clients without a
legal background determine what
is “fair and reasonable,” R.J. Hal-
ina asks rhetorically. Often to
contest a legal bill, clients have to
engage a second lawyer, which
means paying even more legal
fees. To top it off, if clients lose at
the assessment hearing, not only
do they have to pay the bill in full,
they may also have to pay costs to
their lawyers for the time they
spent defending the bills.
Look to current theatre productions for lessons
Theatre
Continued From Page 21
they’re often on the same topic.
This year, The Doctor’s Dilemma
is right out of the health care debate
in the U.S. and the smouldering
debate about cost and quality of
care in Canada. The Shaw Festival
was up on his science and medicine, so when the various doctors
debate cures (most of which
weren’t), you get an accurate snapshot of scientific and medical
thought from the time.
Then comes the dilemma,
which is more than worthy of our
leading law schools. A physician
with a real cure for tuberculosis (as
opposed to the nonsensical cures
being used at the time) is begged
by the wife of an artist to save the
sick man. The doctor has to make a
choice between this potential
patient who is a great artist, and
another patient who is a fellow
physician, a good man and friend.
Then come the surprises and per-
sonal conflicts. It’s like a longer
version of TV coverage of Barack
Obama’s so-called “Death Panels.”
It’s often been said that drama is
real life with the boring bits edited
out. Some simulations seem to be
real life with the boring bits edited
in. As I sat in the Shaw Festival
plays this year I was also listening
with my teacher’s ear. Because
Shaw is so smart and slaved over
the manuscript, writing and re-
writing, there’s not a wasted line,
dragging moment or confused con-
struction — as there would be in
real life. What I was getting was the
most intelligent discussion of a
tough topic through an edited
script, written by a genius and per-
formed by gifted speakers. On the
topic of gifted speakers — legend-
ary New York theatre critic John
Simon called the Shaw Festival
actors the best repertory theatre
company in North America.
Allan Bonner coaches leaders
from his base in Toronto. He is
the author of several business
books on communication and
crisis management. He has
worked with several of Canada’s
largest law firms.
