Legal Innovation - Why Disruption is a Bad Word for a Good Thing (Harvard Law School, March 2014)

March 6, 2014HARVARD LAW SCHOOL - DISRUPTIVE INNOVATION CONFERENCE

Why “Disruptive” is a Bad Word for a Good ThingMarch 6, 2014

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Robbie Friedman — Viewabill co-founder & co-ceo

David Schottenstein— Viewabill co-founder & co-ceo

Presented By:


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About Viewabill

Viewabill (No Surprises Software, Inc.) is a cloud-based platform that provides law firms and their clients with continuous, real-time information relating to billable activity. It was launched in early 2013 to address the underlying tension between legal providers and their clients — specifically as it relates to asymmetric information, over- and vague billing and, generally, “bill shock.”

Founded by childhood friends Robbie Friedman and David Schottenstein while working together as attorney and client, Viewabill is rooted in the understanding that clients manage legal spend smarter when provided with the right information at the right time, which, in turn, improves law firm financial metrics. By providing an innovative and secure solution to access billable activity in real-time, Viewabill enables visibility into, and management of, billable activity. Pre-bill — while adjustments are still possible. !For further information, please visit viewabill.com.

http://viewabill.com


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Today, we’ll talk about disrupting the legal industry. But first, a story…

March 6, 2014HLS - DISRUPTIVE INNOVATION CONFERENCE

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Childhood Friends


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Attorney-Client


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… AND SCOTCH


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“An attorney has a constant and perpetual rendezvous with ethics. He stands as a trustee for his client's interests — a most sacred and confidential relationship.”

- McClure v. Donovan 82 Cal. App. 2d 664


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… My lawyer’s ripping me off

… What am I getting bill

ed for …

Of course he wants

to set up

another meetin

g … If

they t

ry

to bill

me for

this … W

ho is

billing on th

is … I b

et the bill

will be, lik

e, ten th

… W

AIT,

IT’S HOW MUCH??

… M y c l i e n t d o e s n ’ t

understand … What am I

going to get paid for … I need to

meet so I don’t spin my wheels

… Is this billable? … Who can

do this cheapest … I bet the

client will dispute, like, ten

th … WAIT, HE’S DISPUTING

ALL THAT?

INFO

RM

ATIO

N B

AR

RIE

R

client’s thoughts attorney’s thoughts


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VIEWABILL

What would happen if we removed that information barrier and enabled proper decision making?


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LAW

FIRM

>

CLIENT >Enthusiastic

Fearful

Yeah! Awesome!

Show pre-bill info? No way.

Wait, do I want to see?

I want to be able to.

Tepid

This could help.

This WILL help.

SIGN UP

TIME ELAPSED

March 6, 2014HARVARD LAW SCHOOL — DISRUPTIVE INNOVATION CONFERENCE

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Who wins?


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Everybody.


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Let’s look at billing practices. Specifically — “crammed” time.

Accurate memory? Block billing? Time leakage?


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KEY DATA ABOUT TIME ENTRY HABITS:

1. 60% of time entries are “reconstructed.”

2. Time leakage costs a typical law firm up to $40,000/year per attorney.

3. Block billing inflates billable activity by up to 30%.

it cost

s ever

yone!


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VIEWABILL’S AFFECT ON DELAYED TIME ENTRY.

Day

s D

elay

ed (o

n av

erag

e)

0

7.5

15

22.5

30

Duration of Law Firm’s Viewabill ExperienceFirst 30 Days Avg. at 90 Days Avg. at 120 Days


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Hou

rs/E

ntry

0 hours

1.25 hours

2.5 hours

Pric

e/En

try

$0

$170

$340

$510

$680

$850

Entry Delay (in weeks)Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7

TIME ENTRY DELAY AND BLOCK BILLING


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$50/entry

$150/entry

$250/entry

$350/entry

$450/entry

$550/entry

$650/entry

$750/entry

$850/entrySa

ving

s (%

) v. A

vera

ge

-40%

-20%

0%

20%

40%

Total Average 1 Week 2 Weeks 3 Weeks 4 Weeks 5 Weeks 6 Weeks 7 Weeks

DELAYED TIME ENTRIES VERSUS NON-DELAYED


All that sounds bad for the law firm, but…

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MORE KEY DATA ABOUT TIME ENTRY HABITS:

1. Law firms have a realization rate of approximately 84%.

2. Law firms carry 6 - 10 weeks of “unbilled inventory” per attorney.


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BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER …


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CLIENTS:

• Save money on legal spend.

• Benefit from accurate time.

• Strengthen attorney relationship.

• Real-time Access = Meaningful.

FIRMS:

• Reduce time leakage.

• Increase realization rates.

• Reduce collection times.

• Spend more time billing on profitable matters.

• Life-long clients.


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THANK YOU.

Technology

Legal Innovation - Why Disruption is a Bad Word for a Good Thing (Harvard Law School, March 2014)