Lawyers Admit to Inflating Bills

More than half the lawyers responding to a survey admit they sometimes do unnecessary work to hike their billable hours.

Two-thirds of the lawyers surveyed also say they have specific knowledge of bill padding—that is, billing a client for work not performed, the Wall Street Journal’s Law Blog reports.

The survey is by William G. Ross, a professor at Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law.

“With ever-increasing compensation and billing pressures, attorneys are finding ways to generate more hours in a way that is not always ethical,” Ross told the blog.