Alternative law firms

　　可選擇的律所

　　Bargain briefs

　　討價還價

　　Technology offers 50 ways to leave your lawyer

　　再也不用依賴您的律師了，技術(shù)提供了更多方案

　　CONVENTIONAL law firms charge vast hourly fees and then hand the work to underlingswhile the partners play golf at clubs their clients are too poor to join.

　　通常律師事務(wù)所會按小時收取高額費用，而后將工作扔給下屬，而合伙人得以出入一些客戶都支付不起的高爾夫俱樂部。

　　At least, that is how it seems to many clients, whose irritation at being overcharged turnedto fury during the recession.

　　至少，很多客戶看起來是這樣，為此他們很惱怒。在經(jīng)濟低迷期，這種做法更是讓他們暴跳如雷。

　　Some clients are switching to unconventional law firms, which claim to offer equally goodlawyering for much less money.

　　一些客戶于是轉(zhuǎn)向一些非傳統(tǒng)律師事務(wù)所，這些律所宣稱提供同樣優(yōu)質(zhì)的律師服務(wù)，但價格更低廉。

　　Take Clearspire.

　　就拿Clearspire來說吧，

　　The firm s 20 or so lawyers work mostly from home, collaborating on a multi-million-dollartechnology platform that mimics a virtual office.

　　該公司近20名律師大多數(shù)在家辦公，通過一個虛擬辦公室由一個造價達(dá)幾百萬美元的技術(shù)平臺所模仿而成合作。

　　A lawyer checking in on a colleague automatically sees a picture of her on the phone whenshe is, in fact, on the phone.

　　只要律師打電話給同事就會自動在電話上看到她的圖片，而事實上她只是在通話。

　　Clients use the platform too, commenting on and even changing their own documents asthey are being drawn up.

　　客戶也使用這個平臺，提供意見和建議甚至修改他們已經(jīng)制定好的文件。

　　Conventional lawyers are far less open.

　　傳統(tǒng)的律所則沒這么開放。

　　From the start, Clearspire offers cost estimates for each phase of a legal job.

　　一開始，Clearspire為法律業(yè)務(wù)的每個階段給出一個估價。

　　Employees who underestimate how long it will take cannot simply jack up the billtheymust take the hit themselves.

　　即使律師低估了完成業(yè)務(wù)所需時間，也不能隨意抬高價格律所必須承擔(dān)這個風(fēng)險。

　　But if a lawyer finishes his work faster than promised, he gets a third of the savings.

　　但如果某律師比預(yù)期提前完成了工作，他就能拿到三分之一的存款，

　　The client also gets a third, as does Clearspire.

　　客戶和Clearspire也各拿到三分之一。

　　This gives everyone a stake in making the process more efficient and predictable.

　　這樣一來，更有效更有預(yù)見性地完成任務(wù)就與每一方都利益攸關(guān)。

　　Bryce Arrowood, the founder, notes that law firms reward partners who bring in business, andnot necessarily the most brilliant lawyers.

　　創(chuàng)始人Bryce Arrowood注意到律所會獎勵帶來業(yè)務(wù)的合伙人，而不一定會獎勵最出色的律師。

　　Yet clients priorities are exactly the reverse.

　　但客戶的想法卻剛好相反。

　　So Clearspire has an unusual dual structure.

　　于是Clearspire想到一個獨特的二元結(jié)構(gòu)方案。

　　American law firms cannot have non-lawyers sharing fees with lawyers.

　　美國律所不允許非律師及律師享有同樣的叫價。

　　So Clearspire must be two entities: a law firm, with salaried employee-lawyers rather thanpartners, and a second company that focuses on bringing in business and supporting thelawyers.

　　因此Clearspire必須開兩家實體公司：一家是聘請律師而非合伙人的律所;一家是專門物色業(yè)務(wù)并協(xié)助律師完成業(yè)務(wù)的公司。

　　The discount for clients is sweet.

　　該律所給出的折扣很誘人。

　　George Kappaz is a private-equity boss who recently gave a complex job to Clearspire.

　　某私企老板George Kappaz最近委托Clearspire做一項復(fù)雜的業(yè)務(wù)。

　　He estimates that it cost a quarter of what he would have paid the big firms he used before,and Clearspire s work was just as good.

　　他所需支付的費用是他曾經(jīng)支付給大公司的費用的四分之一，并且Clearspire完成得很出色。

　　Mr Kappaz predicts that the Clearspire model, or something like it, will revolutionise the legalbusiness.

　　Kappaz認(rèn)為Clearspire這種模式，或者類似這種模式，將給律師業(yè)帶來一場大變革。

　　Perhaps so, but for Clearspire it is early days.

　　也許是吧，但對于Clearspire來說還為時太早。

　　Can it make money?

　　這種模式有利可尋嗎?

　　A company like 11-year-old Axiom proves that clients have an appetite for alternativemodels.

　　已有11年歷史的Axiom公司證實了客戶鐘情于多選模式。

　　Axiom either seconds some of its hundreds of lawyers to a company, takes on a whole chunkof a client firm s legal work, or performs discovery.

　　Axiom會派出它所雇傭的幾百名律師中的一部分，或者是去客戶公司處理客戶所提交的一大卡車的法律文件，或者是去做調(diào)查。

　　Rather than charging by the hour for each lawyer, it asks for a single flat fee, or charges for ateam by the week or the month.

　　Clearspire不會按小時支付律師，而是給出一個統(tǒng)一費率，或者按一周或一個月來支付一個團隊。

　　Expenses are kept low by having headquarters in SoHo, a chic bohemian bit of New York, andby stashing many lawyers in even cheaper places such as Houston and Hyderabad.

　　由于總部設(shè)在SoHo，此外，很多律師還在一些類似Houston和Hyderabad等價格低廉的地方辦公，因此Clearspire得以給出比較低廉的價格。

　　The recession was good to Axiom.

　　經(jīng)濟衰退對Axiom來說是件好事。

　　After it sent its consultants, recruited from the likes of McKinsey and Accenture, to clients tohelp them trim their legal spending, the clients gave Axiom more work.

　　它派出顧問從McKinsey以及Accenture等地方挖過來的去幫助客戶降低法律業(yè)務(wù)價格之后，客戶就委托Axiom做更多項目。

　　Revenue grew from $55m in 2008 to $80m in 2010.

　　公司收入從2008年得5500萬美元上升到2010年得8000萬美元。

　　This year the firm expects to rake in $120m.

　　今年該公司計劃大攬1億2千萬美元。

　　Companies were always under pressure to cut their legal bills, says Mark Harris, Axiom sboss.

　　公司總是想方設(shè)法減少法律業(yè)務(wù)開支，對此也有壓力。

　　But fake pressure before became real pressure during the downturn.

　　Axiom 的老總Mark Harris說道。但在經(jīng)濟低迷期，壓力還沒真正到來之前，先裝一裝。

　　Axiom and Clearspire serve some of America s biggest companies.

　　Axiom以及Clearspire服務(wù)于美國一部分大型企業(yè)。

　　Other entrepreneurs are aiming at small-business clients.

　　其它企業(yè)家正準(zhǔn)備找一些小公司下手。

　　These would normally take a chance on finding the right sole practitioneror small firm.

　　通常，找新開的小公司都有風(fēng)險。

　　But on LawPivot, a year-old social-networking website for lawyers and those who needthem, potential clients post questions, and lawyers provide free, brief answers.

　　但在LawPivot某專為律師以及需要律師的人服務(wù)的網(wǎng)站，已運營一年上，潛在客戶可以在上面提出問題，律師就會免費提供簡短的回答。

　　The lawyers make nothing, but use the service to drum up custom. Clients can test alawyer s skill before opening their wallets.

　　律師什么都得不到，無非是利用這個服務(wù)去吸引客戶前往;而客戶也得以在掏錢之前測測律師的能力。

　　LawPivot is a social-networking site, not a law firmit will make its money initially bycharging lawyers to upgrade their profiles.

　　LawPivot是一個社交網(wǎng)站，而非律所它最初會向更新個人資料的律師收取費用。

　　Google Ventures is a backer, and Apple s former top lawyer for mergers and acquisitions is aco-founder.

　　谷歌風(fēng)險投資公司對此表示支持，而蘋果的前任從事并購業(yè)務(wù)的高級律師是創(chuàng)始人之一。

　　This kind of heft will bring it up against LegalZoom, the biggest seller of online forms andeasy, repeatable legal services for small businesses and individuals.

　　這些重量級的投入將是它成為LegalZoom為小公司或者個人提供在線表格以及簡易法律服務(wù)的最大銷售商的對手。

　　LegalZoom now wants to put more of its contract lawyers to work directly for clients at a flatrate.

　　如今LegalZoom想按照統(tǒng)一費率派更多的律師直接為客戶服務(wù)。

　　It is more than a decade since the internet made book-buying cheaper and moreconvenient.

　　網(wǎng)民通過互聯(lián)網(wǎng)以更方便更低廉的價格購買圖書已有十年歷史。

　　If technology now helps cut gargantuan legal bills in America and elsewhere, it will bebetter late than never.

　　如果技術(shù)的進步能夠在美國以及其它地區(qū)削減高昂的法律價格，那還為時未晚。

　　詞語解釋

　　1.alternative a.兩者擇一的;供選擇的

　　We have the alternative plans of having a picnic ortaking a boat trip.

　　我們在去野餐或者去乘船旅游兩個計劃中只能選一。

　　2.client n.委托人;客戶

　　If a lawyer has plenty of clients, he grows rich.

　　律師如果有大量的訴訟委托人，就會財源不斷。

　　3.irritation n.刺激;煩惱

　　Discontinue use if irritation or rash appear.

　　如果發(fā)生刺激或丘疹請停止使用。

　　4.collaborate v.合作;通敵

　　She collaborated with her sister/She and her sister collaborated on a biography of theirfather.

　　她和姐姐合作寫父親的傳記。

　　5.automatic a.自動的;無意識的

　　This heating system has an automatic temperature control.

　　這個暖氣系統(tǒng)有自動化的溫度調(diào)節(jié)系統(tǒng)。

　　Alternative law firms

　　可選擇的律所

　　Bargain briefs

　　討價還價

　　Technology offers 50 ways to leave your lawyer

　　再也不用依賴您的律師了，技術(shù)提供了更多方案

　　CONVENTIONAL law firms charge vast hourly fees and then hand the work to underlingswhile the partners play golf at clubs their clients are too poor to join.

　　通常律師事務(wù)所會按小時收取高額費用，而后將工作扔給下屬，而合伙人得以出入一些客戶都支付不起的高爾夫俱樂部。

　　At least, that is how it seems to many clients, whose irritation at being overcharged turnedto fury during the recession.

　　至少，很多客戶看起來是這樣，為此他們很惱怒。在經(jīng)濟低迷期，這種做法更是讓他們暴跳如雷。

　　Some clients are switching to unconventional law firms, which claim to offer equally goodlawyering for much less money.

　　一些客戶于是轉(zhuǎn)向一些非傳統(tǒng)律師事務(wù)所，這些律所宣稱提供同樣優(yōu)質(zhì)的律師服務(wù)，但價格更低廉。

　　Take Clearspire.

　　就拿Clearspire來說吧，

　　The firm s 20 or so lawyers work mostly from home, collaborating on a multi-million-dollartechnology platform that mimics a virtual office.

　　該公司近20名律師大多數(shù)在家辦公，通過一個虛擬辦公室由一個造價達(dá)幾百萬美元的技術(shù)平臺所模仿而成合作。

　　A lawyer checking in on a colleague automatically sees a picture of her on the phone whenshe is, in fact, on the phone.

　　只要律師打電話給同事就會自動在電話上看到她的圖片，而事實上她只是在通話。

　　Clients use the platform too, commenting on and even changing their own documents asthey are being drawn up.

　　客戶也使用這個平臺，提供意見和建議甚至修改他們已經(jīng)制定好的文件。

　　Conventional lawyers are far less open.

　　傳統(tǒng)的律所則沒這么開放。

　　From the start, Clearspire offers cost estimates for each phase of a legal job.

　　一開始，Clearspire為法律業(yè)務(wù)的每個階段給出一個估價。

　　Employees who underestimate how long it will take cannot simply jack up the billtheymust take the hit themselves.

　　即使律師低估了完成業(yè)務(wù)所需時間，也不能隨意抬高價格律所必須承擔(dān)這個風(fēng)險。

　　But if a lawyer finishes his work faster than promised, he gets a third of the savings.

　　但如果某律師比預(yù)期提前完成了工作，他就能拿到三分之一的存款，

　　The client also gets a third, as does Clearspire.

　　客戶和Clearspire也各拿到三分之一。

　　This gives everyone a stake in making the process more efficient and predictable.

　　這樣一來，更有效更有預(yù)見性地完成任務(wù)就與每一方都利益攸關(guān)。

　　Bryce Arrowood, the founder, notes that law firms reward partners who bring in business, andnot necessarily the most brilliant lawyers.

　　創(chuàng)始人Bryce Arrowood注意到律所會獎勵帶來業(yè)務(wù)的合伙人，而不一定會獎勵最出色的律師。

　　Yet clients priorities are exactly the reverse.

　　但客戶的想法卻剛好相反。

　　So Clearspire has an unusual dual structure.

　　于是Clearspire想到一個獨特的二元結(jié)構(gòu)方案。

　　American law firms cannot have non-lawyers sharing fees with lawyers.

　　美國律所不允許非律師及律師享有同樣的叫價。

　　So Clearspire must be two entities: a law firm, with salaried employee-lawyers rather thanpartners, and a second company that focuses on bringing in business and supporting thelawyers.

　　因此Clearspire必須開兩家實體公司：一家是聘請律師而非合伙人的律所;一家是專門物色業(yè)務(wù)并協(xié)助律師完成業(yè)務(wù)的公司。

　　The discount for clients is sweet.

　　該律所給出的折扣很誘人。

　　George Kappaz is a private-equity boss who recently gave a complex job to Clearspire.

　　某私企老板George Kappaz最近委托Clearspire做一項復(fù)雜的業(yè)務(wù)。

　　He estimates that it cost a quarter of what he would have paid the big firms he used before,and Clearspire s work was just as good.

　　他所需支付的費用是他曾經(jīng)支付給大公司的費用的四分之一，并且Clearspire完成得很出色。

　　Mr Kappaz predicts that the Clearspire model, or something like it, will revolutionise the legalbusiness.

　　Kappaz認(rèn)為Clearspire這種模式，或者類似這種模式，將給律師業(yè)帶來一場大變革。

　　Perhaps so, but for Clearspire it is early days.

　　也許是吧，但對于Clearspire來說還為時太早。

　　Can it make money?

　　這種模式有利可尋嗎?

　　A company like 11-year-old Axiom proves that clients have an appetite for alternativemodels.

　　已有11年歷史的Axiom公司證實了客戶鐘情于多選模式。

　　Axiom either seconds some of its hundreds of lawyers to a company, takes on a whole chunkof a client firm s legal work, or performs discovery.

　　Axiom會派出它所雇傭的幾百名律師中的一部分，或者是去客戶公司處理客戶所提交的一大卡車的法律文件，或者是去做調(diào)查。

　　Rather than charging by the hour for each lawyer, it asks for a single flat fee, or charges for ateam by the week or the month.

　　Clearspire不會按小時支付律師，而是給出一個統(tǒng)一費率，或者按一周或一個月來支付一個團隊。

　　Expenses are kept low by having headquarters in SoHo, a chic bohemian bit of New York, andby stashing many lawyers in even cheaper places such as Houston and Hyderabad.

　　由于總部設(shè)在SoHo，此外，很多律師還在一些類似Houston和Hyderabad等價格低廉的地方辦公，因此Clearspire得以給出比較低廉的價格。

　　The recession was good to Axiom.

　　經(jīng)濟衰退對Axiom來說是件好事。

　　After it sent its consultants, recruited from the likes of McKinsey and Accenture, to clients tohelp them trim their legal spending, the clients gave Axiom more work.

　　它派出顧問從McKinsey以及Accenture等地方挖過來的去幫助客戶降低法律業(yè)務(wù)價格之后，客戶就委托Axiom做更多項目。

　　Revenue grew from $55m in 2008 to $80m in 2010.

　　公司收入從2008年得5500萬美元上升到2010年得8000萬美元。

　　This year the firm expects to rake in $120m.

　　今年該公司計劃大攬1億2千萬美元。

　　Companies were always under pressure to cut their legal bills, says Mark Harris, Axiom sboss.

　　公司總是想方設(shè)法減少法律業(yè)務(wù)開支，對此也有壓力。

　　But fake pressure before became real pressure during the downturn.

　　Axiom 的老總Mark Harris說道。但在經(jīng)濟低迷期，壓力還沒真正到來之前，先裝一裝。

　　Axiom and Clearspire serve some of America s biggest companies.

　　Axiom以及Clearspire服務(wù)于美國一部分大型企業(yè)。

　　Other entrepreneurs are aiming at small-business clients.

　　其它企業(yè)家正準(zhǔn)備找一些小公司下手。

　　These would normally take a chance on finding the right sole practitioneror small firm.

　　通常，找新開的小公司都有風(fēng)險。

　　But on LawPivot, a year-old social-networking website for lawyers and those who needthem, potential clients post questions, and lawyers provide free, brief answers.

　　但在LawPivot某專為律師以及需要律師的人服務(wù)的網(wǎng)站，已運營一年上，潛在客戶可以在上面提出問題，律師就會免費提供簡短的回答。

　　The lawyers make nothing, but use the service to drum up custom. Clients can test alawyer s skill before opening their wallets.

　　律師什么都得不到，無非是利用這個服務(wù)去吸引客戶前往;而客戶也得以在掏錢之前測測律師的能力。

　　LawPivot is a social-networking site, not a law firmit will make its money initially bycharging lawyers to upgrade their profiles.

　　LawPivot是一個社交網(wǎng)站，而非律所它最初會向更新個人資料的律師收取費用。

　　Google Ventures is a backer, and Apple s former top lawyer for mergers and acquisitions is aco-founder.

　　谷歌風(fēng)險投資公司對此表示支持，而蘋果的前任從事并購業(yè)務(wù)的高級律師是創(chuàng)始人之一。

　　This kind of heft will bring it up against LegalZoom, the biggest seller of online forms andeasy, repeatable legal services for small businesses and individuals.

　　這些重量級的投入將是它成為LegalZoom為小公司或者個人提供在線表格以及簡易法律服務(wù)的最大銷售商的對手。

　　LegalZoom now wants to put more of its contract lawyers to work directly for clients at a flatrate.

　　如今LegalZoom想按照統(tǒng)一費率派更多的律師直接為客戶服務(wù)。

　　It is more than a decade since the internet made book-buying cheaper and moreconvenient.

　　網(wǎng)民通過互聯(lián)網(wǎng)以更方便更低廉的價格購買圖書已有十年歷史。

　　If technology now helps cut gargantuan legal bills in America and elsewhere, it will bebetter late than never.

　　如果技術(shù)的進步能夠在美國以及其它地區(qū)削減高昂的法律價格，那還為時未晚。

　　詞語解釋

　　1.alternative a.兩者擇一的;供選擇的

　　We have the alternative plans of having a picnic ortaking a boat trip.

　　我們在去野餐或者去乘船旅游兩個計劃中只能選一。

　　2.client n.委托人;客戶

　　If a lawyer has plenty of clients, he grows rich.

　　律師如果有大量的訴訟委托人，就會財源不斷。

　　3.irritation n.刺激;煩惱

　　Discontinue use if irritation or rash appear.

　　如果發(fā)生刺激或丘疹請停止使用。

　　4.collaborate v.合作;通敵

　　She collaborated with her sister/She and her sister collaborated on a biography of theirfather.

　　她和姐姐合作寫父親的傳記。

　　5.automatic a.自動的;無意識的

　　This heating system has an automatic temperature control.

　　這個暖氣系統(tǒng)有自動化的溫度調(diào)節(jié)系統(tǒng)。