This week’s Economist has a brief article on whether the time is up for clockwatching lawyers: Killable Hour.

“If the billable hour does perish, it will be at the hands of the clients, rather than the private-practice lawyers themselves.
. . .
But the legal industry is not known for welcoming change. Whatever it turns out to be, the billable hour’s replacement must be easy to use—and must strike a compromise between clarity for the client and profits for the law firm.”