Thanks for the replies.
Regarding the high hourly fees, remember, our service is intended for occasional use only, when lawyers are willing to pay extra for quick help they can trust. We may adopt a multi-tiered system if we sense there is a demand for more-than-occasional usage.
Re: per project vs. hourly rate: We have a hybrid system. It is intended to keep costs down and quality up:
When submitting projects, lawyers provide a description of the project and a limit, in hours, of how long the project should take. Being lawyers, our clients are in a good position to accurately estimate the time a law student should take for a given project. But if our students think a given limit is unreasonable, they are able to leave feedback on the project, and the client may raise the limit, or withdraw the project altogether -- but if a student thinks they can do it within the initial limit, they pick up the project on the spot. This is the "first come, first serve" system I alluded to. It is a free market competition. If the student is unable to get it done satisfactorily within the time allotted, they have to finish the project to the client's satisfaction without getting paid for the additional hours -- if they want to remain our associate. The client can also willingly add hours to the project if he wants to expand its scope, in which case, the student gets paid for the additional hours.
With respect to the ABA statement, here is what I have told our future client-lawyers:
-We do not provide legal services, in the formal definition of the term, but help you provide legal services. The work we do can be thought of that of an uncertified paralegal. In this sense, we are non-lawyers who have independent contracts with other non-lawyers.
-You directly supervise all the work-product of our students.
-You have direct access to them when they are working on your project.
-What you do with the work-product of our students is your business. We have no contact with your clients.
-If and how you pass along our fee to your clients is up to your discretion, like it is with your own in-office legal assistants/paralegals.
Thanks,
Will