The billable hour gains considerable criticism from the business community, but will the year 2020 have provided enough time for the legal industry to finally do away with it as their fundamental billing means?

Well, not necessarily. But it may provide enough time for a range of law firms offering alternative pricing arrangements to rise through the ranks and become competitive on a national scale.

Recently, global pricing strategist Ron Baker told an Australian audience that all he needed was for at least 17 per cent of legal businesses to do away with the billable hour for the trend of alternative pricing models to really take off. That 17 per cent, he said, was a tipping point, and one that would see a rush of legal businesses follow suit in order to remain competitive.

Already, we're seeing some unique Australian law firms delivering on their alternative pricing strategies - including Advent Lawyers and Marque Lawyers. The revolt against the billable hour is already in progress and time will tell if alternative methods will deliver on their promise - but if they do succeed, law firms may find no other choice but to do away with their timesheets.