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ADVOS Legal: Exceed Your Firm’s Goals, Track Success Not Hours

In a paradigm shift for the legal industry, two entrepreneurial attorneys with a big vision have created a new business model that started with jettisoning the traditional billable hours model and ultimately accomplished so much more.

Gwen Griggs and Whitney Harper have dedicated more than eight years to creating what they describe as a way to “leverage technology to love your work.” The method they developed has been honed through their law practice, ADVOS Legal, and is now offered to the industry at large through its sister business, ADVOS Pro.

ADVOS Pro has packaged this revolutionary approach into its P3 Method course, which is a six-month program designed to provide lawyers with the tools and know-how to transition away from billable hours and onto a deliverables-based model. The P3 Method essentially redefines the economic relationship between attorneys and clients, focusing on the value delivered to the client and incentivizing excellence and efficiency for the lawyer. By moving away from the billable hours model, this new system holds the potential to reshape the dynamics of the legal profession and the lawyer-client relationship.

For years, attorneys have relied on the billable hours model, which has been met with growing criticism. The conventional hourly billing method often prioritizes time spent over the value delivered to clients, leading to inefficiencies and escalating costs, as well as friction between clients and lawyers. It also injures the public’s perception of and willingness to engage with the legal profession, as clients cannot predict or manage their legal expenses and often do not understand their options with respect to the handling of their legal matters. Recognizing these inherent flaws, Griggs and Harper set out to reimagine pricing and delivery of legal services.

Advos Legal Partners
Whitney Harper and Gwen Griggs

Moving away from the billable hour model also allows firms to increase profit, client satisfaction and team satisfaction by applying essential business principles, such as efficiency driven by technology and process, client-focused offerings, and team development.

According to Griggs, “At one point, we bought into the idea that the only way to grow the firm was by adding more lawyers – we have learned that we can deliver more value to clients, focus on the parts of practice we love and increase margin because we measure in deliverables rather than hours.”

In most traditional law firms, attorneys are expected to track and bill their time in six-minute increments, a tedious task that is unrelated to the outcome. This emphasis on billable hours often leads to long work hours, burnout, and a focus on quantity rather than quality of work.

Not only does ADVOS Pro free lawyers from the tedious task of tracking their time, but also allows them to focus on outcomes and rewards efficiency.

Creating a New Model

Although they have been fine-tuning the platform with their own and other firms, according to Griggs the development of the concept began almost two decades ago.

With similar backgrounds in BigLaw and in the general counsel role as well as the client in an operational role, Griggs and Harper had the chance to see the business of law from several different seats. Despite the similarities in their careers the two didn’t meet until 2015, when as they put it “the stars aligned.”

“It couldn’t have happened without our incredible partnership,” says Griggs. “We built a law firm with the clear intention of sharing it with professionals who feel trapped in an outdated model. We discovered a lot of things that didn’t work, doubled down on the things that did work, and in the process built a clear methodology for pricing, along with a software platform that allows us to manage the work of the entire firm.”

In 2021, they were approached by another law firm which had learned what they were doing and wanted help as they moved away from hourly billing. “We began by doing one-on-one consulting. We honed that learning into the P3 Method course, which we launched last year,” Griggs says. “The P3 Method walks professionals through how to price, pitch and profit by implementing deliverables-based billing in their firms. Lawyers get lots of hands-on, practical support and can implement the P3 Method in small steps so that they see immediate benefits without completely disrupting their day-to-day work.

“We also began licensing the tech platform because we know firms that want to move away from billable hours still need a tangible way to measure their work. It has to start with a mindset shift, with the belief that technology can improve the practice of law, allowing lawyers to focus on what they do best and the belief that there is an option better than measuring minutes. Once that shift has happened, the software platform accelerates efficiency and profitability, as well as client and team experience.”

“The fundamental mindset shift is so important – and it changes the game for both lawyers and clients,” Harper says. “Our clients love that they get to make choices about how they spend their legal dollars, and that we can take the time to know them well without it costing the client more – they get better results, they know we’re in their corner, and they rave about it. Our clients are our best marketing. Those great relationships are the key to making the practice of law fun. We do work they’re happy to pay for and we gamify our output in a healthy way.”

 

At one point, we bought into the idea that the only way to grow the firm was by adding more lawyers – we have learned that we can deliver more value to clients, focus on the parts of practice we love and increase margin because we measure in deliverables rather than hours."

Love Your Work

Gwen Griggs, Whitney Harper and Sarah Stroscio

Perhaps one of the primary goals of creating a new model was the attorneys’ desire to be able to focus so much more on the parts of their profession they loved.

“We love practicing this way,” says Harper. “People become lawyers for a reason, right? You can love this profession and it can love you back. You can have a practice that is really thriving personally and from a financial perspective. We call it a ‘Promance’ – and it’s for real.

“There are a lot of people who are afraid to leverage technology,” Harper adds. “There is this fear of robots taking over the world and putting us out of our jobs. What we found, instead, is with the right technology, the tech does what the tech does and frees you up to do the things you love.”

“In this time of ChatGPT, Bard and generative AI, it’s the perfect moment to understand what clients really value, – all the experience we have, how often we’ve addressed this type of problem, and how to be creative,” Griggs says. “Utilizing technology frees attorneys up to do what we do best. If you bill based on deliverables, then technology doesn’t mean you have to lose money as the lawyer in the process and your time is freed up to really use your genius; the clients win as well, because they get a better product.”

In 2015, we looked at every possible platform that was out there and couldn’t find what we were looking for. So, we knew we’d have to figure it out on our own.”

Nuts and Bolts

So, what exactly does ADVOS Pro offer? According to the founders, the P3 Method course and the proprietary [A]OS software platform offer firms an opportunity to “get closer to seamless productivity and grow your business to its full potential without foregoing profitability.” This means that technology can take over the more routine or mundane tasks, allowing the attorney to spend more time with the client.

“At its core, the [A]OS platform is streamlined project management for complex work,” says Griggs. “In 2015, we looked at every possible platform that was out there and couldn’t find what we were looking for. So, we knew we’d have to figure it out on our own.” The [A]OS project management platform is built specifically with the P3 Method in mind – facilitating deliverables-based billing, measuring what matters, and providing a single source of truth for all the “to-do” items and “how-to” resources in the firm.

“With the old model someone calls, I start the clock, and next month I send them a bill,” adds Griggs. “Then, in a few weeks we may have to have an awkward conversation where the client says, ‘that was more than I thought, or I didn’t expect it’. Instead, before we start the work, we have a conversation about what the client really needs, how we can address their issue, and what the fees are going to be. The client can say yes or no or we can explore options together. It also alleviates receivables problems because everyone has agreed on the fees up front.”

Introducing a value-driven approach that prioritizes client success and transparency, ADVOS Pro’s innovative offerings focus on value. As more attorneys and clients recognize the benefits of value-driven billing, the industry can become more efficient, transparent and accessible. The vision of attorneys Gwen Griggs and Whitney Harper is poised to transform the legal industry fostering a collaborative environment that places the client’s interests at the forefront and allows attorneys to focus on the practice of law.

At a Glance

ADVOS legal + ADVOS Pro
5000 Sawgrass Village Circle, Suite 7
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082
904-567-5311
www.advoslegal.com
www.advospro.com

Practice Areas

  • General Counsel to Growth-Stage Companies
  • Corporate Law
  • M&A
  • Buyouts
  • Financing and Venture Capital
  • Employment Counsel & Commercial Transactions

Gwen Griggs

Education

  • Juris Doctor, University of Florida’s Levin College of Law, 1993
  • Bachelor of Arts, University of North Florida, 1990

Achievements

  • Pioneer Award, Women Business Owners of North Florida, 2011
  • Woman of Influence, Jacksonville Business Journal, 2006
  • AV Preeminent Rating, Martindale Hubbell, Since 2001
  • Florida Trend Legal Elite

Memberships

  • Association for Corporate Growth of North Florida, President 2018-2022
  • ACG Florida Capital Connection, Co-Chair 2022
  • Florida Venture Forum, Board Member, 2019-2020
  • Jacksonville Women’s Business Center, Founding Chair, 2003-2006
  • GrowJax, Founding Chair, 2007-2017

Favorite Quote

  • The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way. – Marcus Aurelius

Whitney Harper

Education

  • Juris Doctor, University of Florida’s Levin College of Law, 2004
  • Bachelor of Arts, University of Florida, 2001

Achievements

  • AV Preeminent peer-rated attorney, Martindale-Hubbell, 2019
  • Editor-in-Chief, Florida Law Review, Fall 2004
  • Graduate of Seth Godin’s altMBA Certificate from Venture Capital University Program

Memberships

  • Athena PowerLink Program Advisor, 2019-2020
  • Rethreaded, Inc., Vice Chair, 2015-2018
  • Mission Air, Inc., Board Member, 2013-16
  • Leadership Jacksonville, Class of 2012

Favorite Quote

  • A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are built for. – John G. Shed

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