4 ms·
It's not clear to me whether the issue was being charged an additional $200/hr for a ride-along law student, or being charged $200/hr for a law student's solo w
by Riseed 13y ago
It's not clear to me whether the issue was being charged an additional $200/hr for a ride-along law student, or being charged $200/hr for a law student's solo work.
I agree that charging extra for a ride-along simply doesn't seem fair. However, based on my experience, it's quite possible that the law student researched or wrote solo (billed at $200/hr), and then reported back to the lawyer with a finished product that only needed review (billed at $600/hr). Given the choice, I would much rather pay $200/hr than $600/hr.
- jotm 13y agoI think she meant you paying $600/hr, and the lawyer delegating the whole task to the student (=increased chance of errors and bad work for the full price).
- rayiner 13y agoThat would be a breach of ethical practice (billing the partner rate for work not done by the partner). Generally, the complaint about summer associates is billing for their work at all. Clients don't feel like they should have to pay $200-300/hour for the work of a law student. It's a reasonable complaint, and as a client you should try to get a good deal. That said, the billed rate is a fiction. Most time billed by summer associates is written off by the firm. When they do put together presentable work, the time will be marked down. E.g. some summer associate spent 10 drafting a simple document, the client will be billed for 2-3 hours or however long a junior associate would have taken to do the same task. Generally, of course.