The death of the billable hour has been predicted so many times that it has become a standing joke in the legal profession. Like my lottery win, it is always about to happen but never does. For literally decades, consultants, technologists and reformers have confidently announced that hourly billing was on its last legs. Yet, here we are. Those last legs seem to be stubbornly refusing to buckle. Another year of six-minute units. From research and surveys conducted by multiple organisations, we know that the demands of hourly billing have disproportionately prevented women from equally accessing senior partnership opportunities.
But this time, are the doomsayers of the hourly bill right? Sadly, it is not because everyone has suddenly become enlightened but because this time, the scythe-wielding agent of Death has arrived and its name is Artificial Intelligence.
AI will not merely pressure hourly billing—a pressure that diehards might
