Death. Taxes. Alternative fee agreements.

Few things in life are certain, but the legal industry's methodical move away from relying solely on the billable hour might just be, with or without the disruption caused by COVID-19.


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Law firms are steadily increasing the amount of revenue they derive from alternative fee arrangements, according to The American Lawyer survey results over the past few years. The average portion of revenue from AFAs among firms throughout the Am Law 200 in 2018 was 14.6%; in 2019, it was 15.4%; and in 2020, it was 16.6%. The median percentage has also grown bit by bit, rising from 14% in 2018 to 15% in each of the past two years, according to responses drawn from more than 100 firms that answered questions about AFAs in each year's survey.