Firm introduces 15 options to offer clients better value for money 

Weil Gotshal & Manges' City arm has introduced a menu of alternative billing methods as part of a push to offer its clients better value for money.

The US firm's London office has been actively promoting the use of alternative billing to its partnership since last summer, with private equity partner Marco Compagnoni (pictured) and funds partner Ed Gander leading the initiative and drawing up a list of 15 options for partners to use.

The billing choices are part of an effort to move away from traditional hourly rates and offer clients a range of prices for different aspects of a transaction, as well as bundled deals and retainers.

Compagnoni said: "A lot of firms often talk about alternative billing, but there is never much other than offering discounts on standard rates. We wanted to move away from that sort of plain vanilla option and come up with smarter ways of working. 

"It's not a prescriptive menu. It's simply an internal set of scenarios and options for partners to think about using, and aims to give them more confidence in using those ideas." 

Weil London managing partner Mike Francies added: "A large number of our clients subscribe to at least one type of alternative arrangement. We're also being more systematic about secondments, supporting back offices, training and dissemination of know-how and market practices."

Several other major City firms have rolled out alternative billing initiatives in recent years, including Olswang and CMS Cameron McKenna, while support for the traditional hourly billing model has been falling in recent years.

A recent Legal Week survey of 1,204 companies found 50% favoured fixed fees, with just 11% supporting hourly billing.