While hourly billing has been the mainstay of legal billing, it
is not the only option. In the wake of an economic downturn,
clients are looking for alternative fee arrangements from all their
business providers, including legal services. One alternative to
charging clients at an hourly rate is portfolio pricing. What is it
and why should your firm consider it?
What is portfolio pricing?
Portfolio pricing generally involves charging a fixed fee for a
series of matters. In a portfolio pricing arrangement, legal work
is bundled and priced as a single unit. A "portfolio"
might encompass all of a client's work in a specific practice
area for a set period of time (i.e., monthly or
quarterly). Alternatively, it could be structured to include all of
the legal work completed for a specific transaction, such as
drafting a power of attorney.
