Shaun Jardine | Stop Billing Hours! Why and How To Embrace Value Pricing

The Lawyer's Edge

Shaun Jardine is the Managing Director of Big Yellow Penguin, which encourages businesses to adopt alternative pricing methods. As a non-practicing solicitor and mediator, Shaun served as the Commercial Director and CEO of Brethertons LLP, a top UK 250 law firm. During his tenure, he led the design and implementation of a value-based pricing project that reflected the services delivered to clients.

Shaun is the author of Ditch The Billable Hour!, which is scheduled for publication on January 22, 2024. With experience in marketing and business development, he has created large and exceptional legal teams in niche areas, including property management debt recovery, catastrophic injury, and leasehold enfranchisement.

As an international speaker, Shaun has spoken at business and legal industry events in the UK and the US to advocate for business pricing changes. With a unique insight into what makes law firms tick, he helps them understand why and how to transition from billable hours to value pricing.

In this episode…

Law firms have employed the billable hour pricing method for decades. Should they keep doing it? It turns out that the billable hour can actually hinder revenue growth and that value-based pricing is a viable, growth-oriented alternative when used properly. What are the benefits of value pricing, and how can law firms implement it to boost their bottom lines?

Lawyers aren't always receptive to change, so when introduced to the concept of value pricing, they may resist based on the belief that their clients won’t benefit from it. However, having implemented value-based pricing at a leading law firm, seasoned mitigator Shaun Jardine says that allowing clients to choose between various service levels priced accordingly creates transparency and maximizes the service value clients receive. Additionally, this system provides clients with clear terms and conditions while ensuring more precise financial forecasting for firms. Implementing value pricing requires creating a pilot program to categorize and price each service appropriately to maintain consistency throughout the firm.

In today’s episode of The Lawyer’s Edge Podcast, Elise Holtzman welcomes Shaun Jardine, the Managing Director of Big Yellow Penguin and the author of Ditch the Billable Hour: Implementing Value-Based Pricing in a Law Firm, to talk about transitioning from the billable hour to value pricing. Shaun explains the differences between flat fee billing and value-based pricing, how to structure service prices, and his career trajectory from recovering lawyer to value pricing advocate.