Managing Legal
News Item
From the American Bar Association Journal, January 27, 2022:
“Goodwin Procter is providing ‘thoughtfully curated weeklong’ trips to associates and some other billers, so they can get relaxation time on the law firm’s tab … The trips are valued at $5,000 to $10,000, depending on lawyer seniority.
“Those eligible for the program include associates, professional track attorneys, science advisers and science law clerks who billed at least 1,950 hours last year, according to Reuters.”
Comments
1. This incentive is 100% compliant with applicable canons of professional conduct as enacted by, and as administered by, bar / legal regulatory authorities in every jurisdiction to whose rules the named law firm is subject.
2. In the United States at least, these bar / legal regulatory authorities are largely comprised of (ahem) lawyers.
Question
Under a business model where (1) law firms price their services based on hours consumed performing a task, and (2) clients are dependent on the individual lawyer to determine how much time he / she needs to complete that task — does this encourage objective judgment?