Ed.
note:
This
is
the
latest
installment
in
a
series
of
posts
on
motherhood
in
the
legal
profession,
in
partnership
with
our
friends
at MothersEsquire.
Welcome
Amy
Bowen
and
Elise
Buie
back
to
our
pages.
Click
here
if
you’d
like
to
donate
to
MothersEsquire.
Raising
children
isn’t
easy.
There,
I
said
it,
so
you
don’t
have
to.
I
raised
four,
who
I
also
homeschooled
for
10
years.
When
my
divorce
sent
me
back
to
work
and
my
kids
back
to
brick-and-mortar
schools,
college
tuition
payments
looming
large,
I
started
my
own
family
law
practice
from
scratch
in
a
new
city,
far
from
home,
where
I
pretty
much
knew
nobody.
My
natural
ability
to
network,
coupled
with
becoming
the
sole
breadwinner
for
my
family,
translated
into
many
long
days
(and
nights).
I
started
getting
referral
after
referral
and
quickly
became
the
“it”
girl
for
guardian
ad
litem
work.
I
was
able
to
pay
for
my
first
child’s
college
education
and
the
ones
that
followed
as
those
referrals
became
the
foundation
upon
which
I
built
my
family
law
and
estate
planning
practices.
But
wow,
did
I
work
a
lot!
I
was
used
to
it,
though.
The
memories
of
working
in
person
for
a
law
firm
during
my
early
days
as
a
young
lawyer,
racking
up
the
billable
hours,
were
never
far
from
my
mind.
It
was
all
I
knew.
Decades
later,
I
realized
that
many
traditional
practices
in
law
—
working
in
person
during
“normal”
business
hours
and
expecting
women
to
manage
both
professional
and
household
responsibilities
without
adequate
support
—
were
not
just
impractical.
They,
for
lack
of
a
better
word
and
because
I
like
it,
sucked.
I’ve
tried
many
approaches
to
buck
the
system,
each
with
varying
degrees
of
success.
My
greatest
achievements
so
far?
Building
a
fully
remote
law
firm,
implementing
Eve
Rodsky’s
Fair
Play
model
at
home,
teaching
others
to
do
the
same
in
their
households,
and
most
recently,
rolling
out
flat-fee
billing.
We
introduced
it
earlier
this
year
for
relationship
agreements
and
estate
planning,
marking
an
exciting
milestone
in
our
evolution.
Since
things
are
going
well,
we
plan
to
continue
adding
more
services
at
flat
fees
next
year
—
and
the
year
after,
if
needed.
I
genuinely
believe
in
the
power
of
flat-fee
pricing
to
improve
how
we
approach
work-life
balance.
Personally,
though,
I
prefer
the
term
“life-work
integration,”
with
an
emphasis
on
the
life
part,
something
many
lawyer-moms
struggle
to
achieve.
Here’s
how
flat
fees
can
help.
Flat
Fees
Lower
Administrative
Costs
It’s
a
basic
concept,
but
one
that
should
still
be
discussed
and
emphasized
due
to
its
importance.
Flat-fee
billing
lowers
administrative
costs
—
from
the
lawyer
to
the
bookkeeper.
With
flat-fee
billing
in
place
and
calibrated
to
the
point
that
we
are
confident
it’s
accurately
reflecting
the
work
we’re
doing,
lawyers
won’t
have
to
calculate
how
much
time
they’re
spending
on
even
the
most
minute
tasks,
such
as
reading
and
answering
quick
emails.
As
we
all
know,
those
time
expenditures
can
eat
away
at
the
day,
chipping
into
the
time
we
could
otherwise
take
advantage
of
for
strategy
and
casework.
The
same
holds
for
the
administrative
staff
in
our
offices,
whose
organization
talents
we
could
otherwise
apply
to
on-demand
projects
leading
to
the
firm’s
growth,
for
example.
That
is,
if
they
weren’t
so
focused
on
creating
and
sending
out
invoices.
We
are
still
tracking
it
for
everything
during
this
experimental
phase,
but
so
far
so
great.Bottom
line:
The
reduced
time
and
financial
resources
offered
by
flat-fee
billing
allow
law
firms
to
reallocate
these
valuable
assets
to
more
meaningful
areas,
enhancing
the
efficiency
of
operations.
Flat
Fees
Promote
Conflict
Resolution
In
the
traditional
hourly
billing
structure,
lawyers
are
rewarded
for
the
hours
they
bill
and
penalized
(even
fired)
if
they
fail
to
meet
their
firm’s
yearly
billable
hour
goal.
This
goal
is
arbitrary
and
does
not
necessarily
reflect
the
quality
of
work
done
by
an
attorney.
Therefore,
the
quick
resolution
of
cases
is
not
the
obvious
path
to
success
for
attorneys
confined
to
this
method.
With
flat
fees,
however,
attorneys
are
rewarded
according
to
how
many
matters
they
close,
incentivizing
them
to
seek
conflict
resolution
on
behalf
of
their
clients.
Conflict
resolution
is
the
gift
that
keeps
on
giving,
especially
in
family
law,
where
amicable
relationships
between
spouses
continue
to
help
exes
and
co-parents
relate
long
after
they
sign
their
divorce
decree.
But
should
court
become
the
only
viable
solution,
rest
assured,
there’s
a
flat
fee
for
that
as
well.
We
all
know
court
appearances
don’t
come
cheap,
and
with
flat-fee
billing,
the
client
will
understand
the
cost
of
those
services
upfront.
This
knowledge
continues
to
incentivize
both
client
and
attorney
to
do
what
they
came
to
do:
the
client
because
they
likely
won’t
want
to
keep
incurring
court
costs,
and
the
attorney
who,
if
they
don’t
achieve
resolution,
will
have
already
received
a
flat
fee
for
that
segment
of
the
case
and
likely
will
not
receive
any
further
payment
until
the
case
progresses.
In
this
way,
conflict
resolution
frees
up
time,
whether
for
another
matter
or
to
spend
time
doing
something
else
besides
working.
Flat
Fees
Encourage
Attorneys
And
Clients
To
Invest
In
Their
Future
In
a
traditional
hourly
billing
model,
clients
are
discouraged
from
asking
their
lawyer
questions
for
fear
of
the
clock
ticking.
Every
question
comes
with
a
hefty
price
tag
in
the
client’s
mind.
Not
asking
questions,
alternatively,
leaves
clients
confused
and
insecure.
Clients
who
communicate
with
their
lawyer
despite
hourly
billing
about
every
thought
they
have
as
it
pops
into
their
heads
present
different
challenges.
The
first
is
clients
receiving
a
large
bill
they
weren’t
expecting
in
their
inbox,
which
they
then
vent
about
to
the
lawyer
and
anyone
else
who
will
listen.
The
second
is
the
time
lawyers
must
spend
addressing
frequent
emails
and
phone
calls,
emails
and
phone
calls
that
could
be
answered
if
the
clients
had
access
to
the
right
resources
and
were
educated
about
the
issues
being
addressed
in
their
cases.
Both
scenarios
drain
lawyers
and
their
clients
of
money,
time,
and
energy.
Recognizing
this,
I
am
developing
a
“university”
for
my
clients
to
access
at
their
leisure,
which
will
coordinate
well
with
our
flat-fee
billing
system.
In
addition
to
our
already
plentiful
educational
resources
—
our
website
blog,
on-brand
client-facing
articles
we
pitch
for
publication
to
outside
platforms,
ebooks,
videos,
and
webinars
—
we
are
creating
modules
from
which
clients
can
learn
about
the
issues
most
relevant
to
their
cases.
Of
course,
we
will
continue
to
be
available
to
communicate
with
our
clients
personally,
but
many
of
our
clients’
most
pressing
questions
can
be
answered
with
the
click
of
a
mouse
24
hours
a
day,
seven
days
a
week.
Win!
Everyone
gets
back
time,
money,
and,
hopefully,
some
sanity.
It’s
no
secret
that
family
law
matters
can
be
stressful
for
everyone
involved
if
we
allow
them
to
be.
Flat
Fees
Redefine
Success
In
contrast
to
hourly
billing
models,
where
every
moment
invested
in
a
case
is
meticulously
recorded
and
judged
for
its
contribution
to
an
arbitrary
billing
quota,
flat
fees
can
redefine
what
success
looks
like
for
attorneys
and,
by
extension,
their
clients.
Instead
of
being
rewarded
for
accumulating
billable
hours,
a
flat-fee
billing
model
prioritizes
efficiently
resolving
cases
while
meeting
clients’
objectives.
This
shift
aligns
with
the
interests
of
lawyers
and
clients
alike,
encouraging
both
to
work
proactively
to
prevent
issues
from
escalating.
This
approach
maximizes
time
and
fosters
a
life-work
balance
that
prioritizes
the
health
and
well-being
of
all
involved,
especially
those
kiddos
—
young
and
old(er),
children
of
lawyers,
and
children
of
divorce
clients
—
who
just
need
their
moms
to
be
moms.
Final
Thoughts
…
The
advantages
of
flat-fee
billing
in
legal
practice
extend
beyond
mere
cost
transparency.
This
is
particularly
so
for
law
moms
juggling
the
demands
of
raising
children
while
being
fully
present
with
a
spouse
or
partner
or
those
parenting
solo.
Whatever
the
situation,
flat-fee
billing
can
offer
law
moms
like
you
and
me
the
most
strategic
benefit
of
all:
time.
Time
for
work,
time
for
family,
and,
most
importantly,
time
for
us
to
remember
why
we
chose
the
lives
we
did
—
and
the
opportunity
to
say
without
faltering
that
we’d
choose
them
again.
Stacey
Freeman
contributed
to
the
writing
of
this
article.
Elise
Buie
is
a
Seattle
divorce
and
family
lawyer
and
founder
of
Elise
Buie
Family
Law
Group,
a
law
firm
devoted
to
divorce
and
family
law
and
estate
planning.
A
champion
for
maintaining
civility
throughout
the
divorce
process,
Elise
advocates
for
her
clients
and
the
best
interests
of
their
children,
helping
them
move
forward
with
dignity
and
from
a
position
of
strength.