On this dialog, I’m joined by “The Subscription Legal professional,” Mathew Kerbis, to debate how AI is basically altering the ability dynamics between Biglaw corporations and their refined in-house purchasers.
This isn’t about effectivity positive factors it’s about accountability, transparency, and the existential menace dealing with conventional billable hour fashions.
We discover how purpose-built AI instruments are empowering in-house authorized groups to benchmark work, query billing practices, and why this creates an unprecedented problem for big legislation corporations nonetheless working on legacy enterprise fashions.
In-Home Groups Will Expose Biglaw’s Billing Downside
Mathew explains why refined in-house authorized groups pose the largest menace to conventional Biglaw billing. These groups are adopting purpose-built authorized AI instruments and can begin asking powerful questions. Not like particular person purchasers who could not perceive the nuance, in-house counsel are refined sufficient to benchmark work and acknowledge once they’re being overcharged.
Objective-Constructed AI vs. Basic AI: The Bonfire vs. Blowtorch Analogy
Mathew shares a robust analogy from Daza Greenwood concerning the distinction between common AI instruments (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini) and purpose-built authorized AI.
Basic AI is sort of a huge bonfire—extremely highly effective and versatile, however not specialised. Objective-built authorized AI is like taking that fireplace and harnessing it right into a blowtorch — now you can weld with precision.
The Flat Price Lure: Why It Gained’t Save Biglaw
Steve and Mathew sort out the query many legislation corporations are contemplating: Can they escape the billable hour downside by switching to flat charges? The reply is not any.
Even with a $100,000 flat payment, refined purchasers can calculate that if the work solely took 2 hours with AI help, they’re nonetheless massively overpaying.
This reveals the “underscoping and overscoping downside” — legal professionals battle to precisely value fixed-fee work, which is precisely why flat charges by no means changed the billable hour within the first place.
The actual situation isn’t the billing mannequin; it’s that AI has made the precise value of authorized work clear, and no pricing construction can cover that actuality.
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Steve Fretzin is a bestselling writer, host of the “Be That Lawyer” podcast, and enterprise improvement coach completely for attorneys. Steve has dedicated his profession to serving to legal professionals study key development expertise not at present taught in legislation faculty. His purchasers quickly turn out to be prime rainmakers and credit score Steve’s program and training for his or her success. He will be reached instantly by e-mail at [email protected]. Or you may simply discover him on his web site at www.fretzin.com or LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevefretzin.
