'Value Billing' is variously described as ‘what the client will stand’, ‘hourly billing plus some more’, ‘ask the client what they think it is worth’ etc. However, there is no future for any pricing regime that lacks integrity, honesty and rigor.

Many firms believe that they go into client price negotiations well prepared. Maybe this is true in terms of the offering itself (a moot point perhaps) but as often as not, they go into those discussions ill-prepared in terms of their mindset.

Firms are struggling to deal with commercial clients such as banks and other large corporates who at least outwardly eschew all attempts to develop a relationship, add value and differentiate the offering. Price is all that matters.

The independent Bar has perhaps been slower than other parts of the profession to adapt to evolving pricing trends. Yet, therein lies a valuable opportunity for innovative and inventive chambers to ‘steal a march’ on their more orthodox colleagues.

Even firms that recognise the need to substantially evolve their pricing attitudes and practices are unwittingly sabotaging those efforts through a failure to reconfigure their internal reporting dashboard to drive different behavior from fee earners.

The relationship between in-house counsel and their external law firms is multifaceted and complex; no aspect of the relationship more so than the pricing element. Here are General Counsels' views on their expectations of law firms on pricing.....

There is an inescapable irony in the fact that lawyers spend their entire legal career successfully advocating and negotiating on behalf of our clients, yet most are only moderately effective when it comes to negotiating their own fee.

Pricing is customarily seen only in terms of a means to impact turnover and in so doing increase profit. However, confining pricing to this one-dimensional view overlooks other equally valuable strategic uses to which the pricing ‘lever’ can be applied.

In contrast with their traditional after-the-event reporting function, law firm and chambers finance directors have an opportunity to reinvent themselves, and materially impact their organisations’ fortunes by facilitating pricing innovation.

A common refrain from law firms is that in-house lawyers talk about AFAs and value based billing but aren't really interested in concepts such as sharing risk; it's about getting the law firm to do the same work for less cost.

It has long been customary for law firms to include a variety of sundry charges at the end of the bill. However, whilst the practice generates additional gross revenue and profit, this may be outweighed by the negative effects on client perception.

Many GCs and law firms find the way that Requests For Proposal (RFPs) and their like are currently run is seriously flawed; often combative, adversarial and destructive of professional relationships. There may be a better way.