Here is an interesting handout at the Yale Law School to help students understand the billable hour. I wonder if I would have stayed in law school if someone had explained it this way to me.
Speaking of the billable hour, check out www.thebillablehour.com. The Billable Hour was founded by husband and wife Mark and Lisa Solomon, who are both practicing lawyers. Mark spends his billable hours as a trial attorney for an insurance defense firm, while Lisa, like me, runs her own practice providing legal research and writing services to other lawyers. The Billable Hour also publishes a monthly e-newsletter that focuses on work/life balance issues and legal humor.