Forums

[sebastian_dangerfield]

Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
How do you figure that? If the pro bono work has no opportunity cost, and no marginal cost, why would it affect a paying client's bill, any more than a GP's affinity for fine Scotch?

Research -- library books are sunk/fixed costs. Using them to research Gitmo issues adds no costs. Westlaw.-- large firms are on fixed-price contracts, so they're not passing on hourly billing to clients. Lawyer time--for associates it's coming out of their own hide, and usually doesn't increase their salary or bonus. For GPs it's the same--they're not originating business, so they're not getting comp. for it.

And all of this assumes that any costs the firm actually incurs are passed along to other clients. That's a mistaken assumption--it reduces the partners' draw. And if the partner doesn't like this form of charitable giving, he goes to another firm that doesn't do it.

You and I both know how much of that pro bono time gets shifted onto paying clients' bills. A .6 here, a 1.4 there...