U.S. FEDResearch
8am data: hourly billing still outnumbers flat fees nearly 5 to 1 at small firms
Firms billing only by the hour outnumber those billing only by flat fee by nearly 5 to 1, according to the 8am SMB Law Billing and Payments Report released October 22, 2026. The report draws on aggregate data from more than 60,000 mostly US firms using MyCase and LawPay, comparing the first half of 2026 with the first half of 2025.
Paper (LawSites) → · ABA Journal
Key points
- 47.7% of firms billed entirely by the hour in the first half of 2026, while 10.3% billed only flat fees.LawSites
- Flat fees made up 15% of all invoices, down from 16% a year earlier.LawSites
- Flat fees dominated traffic work at 87.7% of invoices and immigration at 64%, but were 2.8% in family law.LawSites
- Monthly billings grew 5% to 8%, driven by billing more recorded time rather than higher hourly rates.LawSites
- Invoices paid within 30 days rose from 57.7% to 59.1%.LawSites
- 8am, formerly AffiniPay, said it will publish the report twice a year.LawSites