AI makes law firms faster — and clients want a discount

The New York Times takes up a question that grows sharper at the meeting point of law and technology: if artificial intelligence makes law firms faster and more efficient, why don't clients see a corresponding drop in their bills?

The question sits right in the headline — "Where's my discount?" It captures the mounting tension around the classic model of legal billing built on hourly rates. If AI tools let firms handle part of the work in less time, the familiar "pay for hours worked" principle starts to cut against the firms themselves: the more efficient the labor, the fewer hours there are to bill.

The discussion of the piece on Hacker News (105 points and 101 comments at the time of writing) shows the topic strikes a nerve with practitioners and clients alike. It is not only about specific technologies but about the economics of the profession, which has rested for decades on the billable hour.

The full text of the article was not available to us, so we limit ourselves to what the headline and summary state: efficiency gains from AI put an awkward question before the legal business — how fairly to share the benefit between firms and the clients they serve.

Source: Hacker News