On a rainy afternoon about a year ago, a colleague of mine sent over the link below:
http://southernblondelawyer.blogspot.com/2008/02/asbestos-depos-billable-promised-land.html
The comments in the email accompanying the link were something of a wink and a nod, followed by some snickering. In other words, the post by Southern Blonde Lawyer was dead on.
The 13 hour billable day in the nationwide asbestos litigation is not an aberration, but commonplace. It is, as Southern puts it, the "laziest and easiest 13 hours known to man." Despite this fact, insurance companies and product manufacturers continue to pay hourly rates to firms across the country. My initial reaction is "What a waste of $$$." After thinking about it more though, my reaction becomes, "What a waste of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!."
This blog will look to explore the benefits available to insurance companies and product manufacturers through a fixed-fee agreement. We will track developments in the fixed-fee model, propose alternative billing arrangements and generally comment on trends in asbestos litigation across the country.
