Document Type
Article
Abstract
This comment advocates that the American Bar Association (“ABA”) revise its stance on billing to account for technological advancements in the legal profession. Specifically, this comment argues that ABA Opinion 93-379 is an inadequate attempt at controlling billing practices at a time when technology is shifting the way legal work is done. Part II provides a brief discussion of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct and a history of hourly billing, along with a brief discussion of the positives and negatives of hourly billing. Part III discusses some of the technological advancements in the legal profession and how these advancements create an efficient attorney, an analysis of ABA Opinion 93-379, which was an attempt to control attorney billing practices, and how the Opinion penalizes attorneys for efficiency. In addition, Part III discusses some alternative forms of billing as a possible solution for the billing dilemma that attorneys face. It also offers a proposal for dealing with the technology dilemma and how to implement this proposal in the law office. Finally, Part IV concludes by admonishing the ABA to take swift action to address the problem.
Recommended Citation
Bradley A. Ullrick,
The Alternative Billing Diner: Serving up a New Billing Scheme for the Technological Age,
5 J. Tech. L. & Pol'y
(2000).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.ufl.edu/jtlp/vol5/iss1/2