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Comment by sidewndr46 | Hacker News Reader

From what I understand a lawyer can't advertise his or her services as better or worse than anyone other lawyers. It's part of the deal of having your law license. You agree that everyone else is up to the same standard, or you bring up a complaint and suggest their license be revoked / suspended / etc.

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I'm not sure what you're driving at?

If the firm can handle clients in 1/2 the time, they can take on more clients. They don't have to advertise themselves as being "better" or something.

Payroll, for all businesses, is a huge limiting factor on abilities. Which means, you can't just "staff up" and become larger overnight.

Why would I want to do twice the work in the same amount of time if I am paid by the hour?

Not all work is equal. Some will require partner time - others lead to longer more lucrative relationships. Being capable of handling more load means you will earn more money in the long run - usually a goal for most business owners.

Not to mention, you might not require a small army of paralegals and secretaries anymore... fewer staff can get the same load accomplished.

It even opens the door to charging flat-rates for certain services, instead of by the 1/10th hour or whatever.

The point is, doing more in less time is always better... even if you decide to kick back and relax with your newfound time.

But you could take on more clients per day and make more money?

The partners will make more money. The lawyers doing the work will make the same amount of money while dealing with twice as many clients.

The partners won't make more money because their associates will be billing the same number of hours. They'll just be doing so for more clients, which doesn't really do the partners any good (aside from making them feel more powerful because they have lots of clients).

But you are still billing by the hour. 8 hours in a day. Do work for 4 clients or work for 8 clients and get the same amount of money?

There are a few law firms that are heavily automated. But they are mostly larger, class action, pay per result, type law firms vs your standard law firm.

Yeah, I worked with one of those "we get paid if you get paid" firms. Professional, courteous, & every conversation we had was completely to the point. First call was with a receptionist. Spent maybe ~30 minutes talking to the lawyer total. They already optimize not to waste time.

If I charge a fixed rate per hour then the number of clients is irrelevant no? 8 hours of work a day pays the same amount, regardless of how many people it serves.

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