Nathan Koppel and Ashby Jones shock the world in the WSJ today with news that the "'Billable Hour' [Has Come] Under Attack" and that, "In Recession, Clients Push Law Firms for Flat-Fee Contracts".

Big clients seem to have learned that paying by the hour promotes waste.  The risk of sloppy, useless, and hurtful work falls only on the client.  A flat fee, on the other hand, shifts some of the risk to the lawyers; it also rewards lean staffing.

Do flat fees produce the same (or better) legal outcomes for clients?  What do you clients out there say?

See The Hourly Fee Must Die; Hourly Fee as Enemy — of Joy!; The Hourly Fee Must Die — Some More.