Alan G. Badey, CPA and a partner at Citrin Cooperman & Company, writes: As law firms struggle to maintain profitability, if not their survival, in the current economic climate, the debate over the almighty billable hour has been renewed. There's no doubt that many clients are forcing their law firms to explore alternative billing methods, whether they like it or not. And it's not just about saving money. It's about clients, perhaps feeling they have leverage, seeking value and accountability for the fees they are charged. Whether that's the case or not, it's a good time for firms to analyze the different methods and discuss with their clients which ones make sense.

Free With Registration: From Lockstep to 'Levels'

Larry Richard, an organizational psychologist as well as a former trial lawyer who heads the leadership & organization development practice at Hildebrandt, writes: Many firms are jettisoning the traditional system of promoting a whole class of associates each year in favor of a more dynamic, performance-based system in which promotion, pay raises and pricing are based on an associate's demonstrating mastery of a well-defined set of competencies. Such a lockstep-to-levels transition represents a major organizational change, and affects many of a firm's infrastructure systems, particularly those that involve HR. Such a transition also has significant psychological impact on motivation, morale and employee engagement.

Dinosaurs No More

Last year's collapse of the financial market triggered an economic maelstrom that impacted law firms across the country. But while large firms were hit hardest and forced to take severe cost-cutting measures like laying off associates and deferring first-year classes, New York's mid-size firms, once considered close to extinction, have emerged largely intact. The reason, say partners in mid-size firms, is a business model that combines low leverage, fewer offices, diversified practices, flexible billing and an old-fashioned sense of partnership.

The Spectre of Liability Claims Hovers

Gregg L. Weiner, a partner at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, writes that although insurers of law firms have anticipated increased claims targeting firms as deep pockets, comfort may be taken that if such a wave materializes, the courts will continue to apply established legal doctrine to screen out legally inadequate claims against law firms even in the face of sympathetic-sounding facts and massive losses, as they did in a pair of recent decisions, both of which involved all-too-plausible potential nightmare scenarios for the firms involved.

Don't Be Blindsided by Fraud

Howard M. Fielstein, chairman of the litigation consulting practice group at Margolin, Winer & Evens, and John F. Lemanski, a senior manager in the litigation consulting practice group, write: While any outside counsel worth their retainer wants to protect their clients from fraud and mismanagement, the same prudence and caution is sometimes not exercised within the firm itself. Easy access to escrow funds, cash flow crunches during a drawn-out contingency case, an overall laissez-faire attitude toward the firm's financial controls: Add any of these ingredients together, mix, stir, and you have just concocted a recipe for law firm fraud.