BE THAT LAWYER

Whitney Harper: The Case Against the Billable Hour

Episode Summary

In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Whitney Harper discuss: Why so many law firms still use the billable hour. Deliverables-based billing. Getting clear about what your deliverables are. Building the playbooks to increase your profitability. Key Takeaways: Most tech for lawyers are based on hourly billing, which makes it difficult for those wishing to switch without creating new software. Hourly billing can make you adversarial to your clients, and adversarial to yourself and your mental health. Understanding what you are looking for (more money, more time, etc.) then you can look at more ways to make yourself efficient in delivering those products. If you have agreed on the price at the front end, you are less likely to have a collection issue. "When you bill by the hour, there's a kind of an upper limit on what you can reasonably say an hourly rate is. There's also an aspect of it, that's a mental health issue - as a lawyer, if I only can win by burning more of the midnight oil, there's a level of exhaustion, and you feel like you're playing the game that you can't win." —  Whitney Harper Get a free copy of Steve’s book “Sales-Free Selling” here: www.fretzin.com/sales-free-selling Thank you to our Sponsors! Overture: https://overture.law/ Moneypenny: https://www.moneypenny.com/us/ Get Visible: https://www.getvisible.com/ Episode References: The Taboo Surrounding Sales in Legal - https://www.fretzin.com/events The Go-Giver by Bob Burg - https://thegogiver.com/ About Whitney Harper: Whitney Harper is a seasoned practicing lawyer, and the co-founder of ADVOS Pro, a business that helps law firms break up with the billable hour method and begin measuring what matters - value, expertise, and results. Her practice, ADVOS legal, has leveraged the ADVOS Pro P3 Method and [A]OS platform for nearly a decade, building a successful, healthy, and highly profitable practice that delivers sophisticated, strategic legal counsel to clients who are raving fans. Connect with Whitney Harper:  Website: https://www.advospro.com/ Email: whitney@advospro.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/whitneycharper/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/advos-pro/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ADVOSPro Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whit_onthewater/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/advospro/ Connect with Steve Fretzin: LinkedIn: Steve Fretzin Twitter: @stevefretzin Instagram: @fretzinsteve Facebook: Fretzin, Inc. Website: Fretzin.com Email: Steve@Fretzin.com Book: Legal Business Development Isn't Rocket Science and more! YouTube: Steve Fretzin Call Steve directly at 847-602-6911 Show notes by Podcastologist Chelsea Taylor-Sturkie Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.

Episode Notes

In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Whitney Harper discuss:

• Why so many law firms still use the billable hour. 
• Deliverables-based billing. 
• Getting clear about what your deliverables are. 
• Building the playbooks to increase your profitability. 

Key Takeaways:

• Most tech for lawyers are based on hourly billing, which makes it difficult for those wishing to switch without creating new software. 
• Hourly billing can make you adversarial to your clients, and adversarial to yourself and your mental health. 
• Understanding what you are looking for (more money, more time, etc.) then you can look at more ways to make yourself efficient in delivering those products. 
• If you have agreed on the price at the front end, you are less likely to have a collection issue. 

"When you bill by the hour, there's a kind of an upper limit on what you can reasonably say an hourly rate is. There's also an aspect of it, that's a mental health issue - as a lawyer, if I only can win by burning more of the midnight oil, there's a level of exhaustion, and you feel like you're playing the game that you can't win." —  Whitney Harper

Get a free copy of Steve’s book “Sales-Free Selling” here: www.fretzin.com/sales-free-selling

Thank you to our Sponsors!

Overture: https://overture.law/

Moneypenny: https://www.moneypenny.com/us/

Get Visible: https://www.getvisible.com/

Episode References: 

• The Taboo Surrounding Sales in Legal - https://www.fretzin.com/events
• The Go-Giver by Bob Burg - https://thegogiver.com/

About Whitney Harper: Whitney Harper is a seasoned practicing lawyer, and the co-founder of ADVOS Pro, a business that helps law firms break up with the billable hour method and begin measuring what matters - value, expertise, and results. Her practice, ADVOS legal, has leveraged the ADVOS Pro P3 Method and [A]OS platform for nearly a decade, building a successful, healthy, and highly profitable practice that delivers sophisticated, strategic legal counsel to clients who are raving fans.

Connect with Whitney Harper:  

Website: https://www.advospro.com/

Email: whitney@advospro.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/whitneycharper/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/advos-pro/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ADVOSPro

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whit_onthewater/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/advospro/

Connect with Steve Fretzin:

LinkedIn: Steve Fretzin

Twitter: @stevefretzin

Instagram: @fretzinsteve

Facebook: Fretzin, Inc.

Website: Fretzin.com

Email: Steve@Fretzin.com

Book: Legal Business Development Isn't Rocket Science and more!

YouTube: Steve Fretzin

Call Steve directly at 847-602-6911

Show notes by Podcastologist Chelsea Taylor-Sturkie

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.