The Hon Wayne Martin, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Western Australia has said that time-based billing penalises technology advancements. He noted that whilst technology creates opportunities to perform tasks more quickly and efficiently, there is little incentive for lawyers to embrace them because to do so would reduce profits.
The comments were made as part of a speech entitled “Billable Hours – past their use by date” given to open Law Week in Western Australia on 17 May, 2010.
His honour said that time-based billing discourages case planning, project management and cost benefit analysis. It also encourages over-servicing and can lead to timesheet padding.
His honour also noted that time-based billing reduces lawyer job satisfaction and builds distrust in the community. He concludes that its dominance should diminish in favour of other billing methods which encourage efficiency and better allocate risk between lawyer and client. He calls on the legal profession and regulators to take action in order to avoid consumers of legal services seeking alternative solutions.
The full text of His Honour’s speech is available at http://www.supremecourt.wa.gov.au/publications/pdf/Perth_Press_Club_Law_Week_20100517.pdf
