A new book argues that the majority of US law firms now offer alternative fees, but most fail to capitalise on them, while fewer than one in five execute the growth plans they write.
Barbara Koenen-Geerdink has spent her career on the commercial side of law firms, most recently as Chief Marketing Officer of one of the largest firms in the Middle East. Her book BEYOND BILLABLE HOURS: THE GROWTH ACCELERATOR FOR LAWYERS, due to be published by Hawksmoor Publishing on 7 October 2026, argues that three forces are converging on the profession at once: a billing model that has outlived its logic, AI that is dismantling the link between time and value, and business development still treated as an optional extra.
BILLING: A DISCONNECT BETWEEN TIME AND VALUE
Koenen-Geerdink is direct about where she stands. "My personal view on billing by the hour is that it no longer serves its purpose," she writes, "as I see a disconnect between time and value."
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