Ep 133: In Defense of the Billable Hour, with Apperio CEO Nicholas d’Adhemar

Does the billable hour get a bum rap? Nicholas d’Adhemar, founder and CEO of the London-based spend management company Apperio, believes so. The real culprit for out-of-control legal costs is something else altogether, he believes. By identifying it, d’Adhemar says, both clients and law firms will be better positioned to manage legal costs. In this episode of LawNext, d’Adhemar joins host Bob Ambrogi to discuss why he believes hourly rates, done right, are often a fairer measure of legal costs than fixed or capped fees. He also discusses his founding of the company in 2013, its development since then, and its drive, launched last year, to significantly expand its market in the United States.    Before founding Apperio, d’Adhemar worked six years as a lawyer for a large international law firm. After completing his MBA at INSEAD, he spent three years working as an investment manager in a private equity firm. Those experiences, he says, taught him that the fewer the surprises in billing, the happier the client and the law firm — the lesson that inspired him to found Apperio. Thank You To Our Sponsors This episode of LawNext is generously made possible by our sponsors. We appreciate their support and hope you will check them out.  Paradigm, home to the practice management platforms PracticePanther, Bill4Time, and MerusCase, and e-payments platform Headnote. Woodpecker, legal document automation for solo and small firms.   A reminder that we are on Patreon. Subscribe to our page to be able to access show transcripts, or to submit a question for our guests.