Controversy Over Billable Hour “A Red Herring": Dechert CEO

The hype in the legal profession around how much clients hate the billable hour is “all a red herring,” said Daniel O’Donnell, Chief Executive Officer of Dechert.

“The things that irritate clients are when they... feel the lawyer they are dealing with doesn’t respect the client’s rule as the ultimate decision maker,” said O’Donnell. “They are off pursuing some abstract notion of perfection, and spending their money to do it.”

O’Donnell, who has spent 39 years at the same Philadelphia-based firm, spoke with Big Law Business on Tuesday about the core challenges facing his business — including fighting complacency among ...