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

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Does the billable hour get a bum rap?</span> <a href= "https://www.linkedin.com/in/dadhemar/"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Nicholas d’Adhemar</span></a><span style= "font-weight: 400;">, founder and CEO of the London-based spend management company</span> <a href= "https://www.apperio.com/"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Apperio</span></a><span style= "font-weight: 400;">, 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.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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. </span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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.</span></p> <p><strong>Thank You To Our Sponsors</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This episode of LawNext is generously made possible by our sponsors. We appreciate their support and hope you will check them out. </span></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://joinparadigm.com/"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Paradigm</span></a><span style= "font-weight: 400;">, home to the practice management platforms</span> <a href= "https://www.practicepanther.com/"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">PracticePanther</span></a><span style= "font-weight: 400;">,</span> <a href