{"id":3726,"date":"2005-04-01T13:36:55","date_gmt":"2005-04-01T17:36:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/formerlyknownas\/2005\/04\/01\/more-whimsy-than-folly\/"},"modified":"2011-08-05T14:57:50","modified_gmt":"2011-08-05T18:57:50","slug":"more-whimsy-than-folly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/2005\/04\/01\/more-whimsy-than-folly\/","title":{"rendered":"more whimsy than folly"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
\n
diner dusk <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
her twenty-something hips <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
winding minds counter clockwise <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
\n
<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
\n
<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
\n
<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
\n
<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
\n

\n

\n
                                                                                 a   y<\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
                                                                              w<\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
                                                                            a<\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
                                                                          s<\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
                                                                       w<\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
                                                                    o<\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
                                                                  l<\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
                                                                b<\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
birthday balloons the one that doesn’t burst<\/FONT><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/DIV>
\n
<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
\n
<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
\n
<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
\n
\"yyS\"<\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
\n
<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
\n
pea soup fog<\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
the sound of a map <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
unfolding beside me<\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
 <\/DIV>
\n
 <\/DIV>
\n
 <\/DIV>
\n
 <\/DIV>
\n
Ed <\/STRONG><\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
     Markwoski<\/STRONG><\/FONT>, <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
     “pea soup fog” * “diner dusk” from <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
              <\/FONT>Haiku Sun<\/FONT><\/EM><\/STRONG><\/A>  (Issue X, Jan. 2004) <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
\n
<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
\n

\n

\n

\n
and, an encore<\/EM>:<\/FONT><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
\n

\n

\n

\n

\n

\n
    shifting
as
       he shouts
          the
faith healer’s
                    toupee<\/FONT><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
\n
<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
\n
<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
\n
from <\/FONT>dagosan<\/STRONG><\/EM><\/FONT><\/A> <\/EM>                                              <\/EM><\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n

\n

\n
<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
\n
April 1 —<\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
no one here<\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
to make <\/FONT>a fool of me<\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
\n
<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
\n
             <\/FONT><\/EM><\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
<\/FONT><\/EM> <\/DIV>
\n
<\/FONT><\/EM> <\/DIV>
\n

\n

\n

\n
first scull of the year<\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
arms ache<\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
just waving<\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
\n
<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
\n
<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
\n
<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
\n
<\/FONT> <\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
\n
last day of March<\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
her pink slip’s<\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
no prank<\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
\n
<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/EM> <\/DIV>
\n
[April 1, 2005] <\/FONT><\/EM><\/FONT><\/FONT><\/EM><\/DIV>
\n

\n

\n

\n

\n
<\/FONT> <\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
\n

 <\/P><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
\n

 potluck<\/FONT><\/EM><\/STRONG><\/DIV>
\n

\n
\"tiny The usual savvy suspects are taking part in Adam Smith Esq<\/EM>‘s<\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
“<\/FONT>The Future of the Billable Hour<\/FONT><\/A>.”  As usual, almost everyone<\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
blames the method of billing rather than the motives of the biller.<\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
It is an awful lot like blaming the automobile for injury done from<\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
collisions, rather than blaming the reckless ness or negligence (or<\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
intent) of <\/FONT>the driver (or the driver’s employer).<\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
\n
\"complaint As I’ve discussd in my piece on <\/FONT>chronomentrophobia<\/FONT><\/A> <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
(where you can <\/FONT>find citations and links), and have <\/FONT>probably mentioned <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
elsewhere:<\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n

\n
[1] From the client’s perspective, there is nothing wrong   <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
with the billable hour fee system that cannot be cured by <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
the lawyer merely doing what is required of him or her ethically <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
and as a fiduciary: (a) following the standards embodied in <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
Rule 1.5(a) of the Model Code — e.g., basing the fee on the <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
experience and capabilities of the lawyer, complexity of the matter, <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
etc.; (b) performing in an efficient and competent manner; and <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
(<\/FONT>c) keeping the client well-informed.<\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
\n
 [2] From the perspective of the overworked associate or partner, <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
there is nothing wrong with the billable hour fee system that is not <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
very likely to be carried over to any alternative billing arrangements, <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
if the firm expects the shift to be made without reducing its income <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
or profits.  <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
\n
[3] Clients expect “alternative fee arrangements” and “value billing” <\/FONT><\/DIV>
\n
to result in lower overall fees<\/EM>, not higher ones.<\/FONT> <\/FONT><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  diner dusk her twenty-something hips winding minds counter clockwise                                                                                            a   y                                                                               w                                                                             a                                                                           s                                                                        w                                                                     o                                                                   l                                                                 b birthday balloons the one that doesn’t burst           pea soup fog the sound of a map unfolding […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2926],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pre-06-2006"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6kP1R-Y6","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/94"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3726"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3726\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13290,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3726\/revisions\/13290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}