Will AI spell the death of the billable hour, asks James Lumley?
Professional services firms face a fundamental paradox: they sell time while AI saves time. If a task that previously took three weeks now takes three days, what should the client pay?
“I’ve spoken to a few general counsel who’ve given very different answers,” says Joe Purcell from Hugh James.
Some are saying: if you can do the same piece of work that used to take you three weeks in three days, then I’ll pay a premium for that, because you’ve improved the service. Others are saying: if it used to take you three weeks, now it takes three days, it’ll be a fraction of the cost. I’m not sure anyone knows the answer to that yet, and there are some very complex issues around cost versus value, risk and liability.”
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