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A Simple(ish) Pricing Model for Law Firms
Elsewhere I've advocated for pricing a given piece of legal work in three distinct ways, with reference to: The cost of delivering said...

James Markham
4 min read


How can firms afford a 12.5% pay rise?
I didn't have a 12.5% increase in London NQ salaries from Norton Rose Fulbright on my bingo card, but both The Lawyer and Legal Cheek...

James Markham
2 min read


The Case for Commercial Acumen Training in Law Firms
It’s no secret that client expectations are shifting, and law firms are feeling the squeeze from compounding cost inflation in their...

James Markham
3 min read


Value Based Pricing = Good (?)
Earlier this week I posted about the billable hour maybe not being all that bad, when viewed in the context of the other factors that...

James Markham
2 min read


Billable Hour = Bad (?)
Couple of posts this week testing the "billable hour = bad / value based pricing = good" narrative I'll say up front that my view is...

James Markham
2 min read


Legal MBA x Fringe Legal Podcast
Darren and I were delighted to kick off the 2025 season on Fringe Legal podcast discussing all things Legal MBA and Legal Tech. Host Ab...

James Markham
1 min read


How to increase effective rates when current clients won't budge
Within my earlier post this week on the latest data release from the ONS on Legal Services prices I referenced BigHand 's 2025 Law Firm...

James Markham
2 min read


UK Law Firm Pricing Briefing - January 2025
Background The UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) produces a quarterly Services Producer Price Index (SPPI). This contains useful...

James Markham
5 min read


Maximising Law Firm Profits: Insights from James Markham
An impromptu chat with David Woolstencroft , of People in Legal , when we were both at LegalGeek last year, in which we cantered through...

James Markham
1 min read


Should firms allocate overheads to individual clients or matters?
This is not the same question as 'could' firms allocate overheads - for most firms that record time, the answer here is yes But with...

James Markham
2 min read


Realisation Waterfall
I made passing reference to a looking at realisation rates as a waterfall in a comment last week Thought it worth expanding on The table...

James Markham
1 min read


Incentives can matter more than process
Last week I posted an approach to improving law firm lockup, using a Lean process improvement methodology I thought it worth highlighting...

James Markham
2 min read


The Legal MBA Guide to Reducing Law Firm Lockup
Lockup is a perennial issue within law firms, with the most recent PwC survey showing deterioration in the amount of time it takes law...

James Markham
8 min read


The only certainties in life are death and taxes
Except we don't know when we're going to die, and taxes are subject to change at the drop of a hat As indeed they did last week in the UK...

James Markham
2 min read


UK Law Firm Pricing Briefing - October 2024
Background The UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) produces a quarterly Services Producer Price Index (SPPI). This contains useful...

James Markham
3 min read


PEP and Inflation
The 2024 PwC UK Law Firm Survey makes for good reading, as always One trend caught my eye – UK Profit per Full Equity Partner (PEP),...

James Markham
2 min read


On its own, Legal Tech / AI doesn't deliver any financial benefit to law firms
In fact, it's often a significant cost in both £ notes and time Put aside the watering down through pilot to rollout of 'this will...

James Markham
2 min read


Expensive lawyers have gone mainstream
Expensive lawyers look to have gone mainstream with the Wall Street Journal reporting on US rates of $2,500 over the weekend But,...

James Markham
2 min read


Profit before purpose
Might need to put the tin hat on for this one... To be clear upfront, I'm not saying profit at the expense, or to the detriment, of...

James Markham
1 min read


UK Law Firm Pricing Briefing - July 2024
Background The UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) produces a quarterly Services Producer Price Index (SPPI). This contains useful...

James Markham
4 min read
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