Practicing Law A Little Differently

Digby Leigh is a lawyer with more than 40 years of experience practicing law. He brings a practical, cut-to-the-chase, people-oriented approach to any solution. He founded Digby Leigh & Co. more than 15 years ago. He’s now the co-founder of AltFee Solutions, which is pushing the legal industry forward, and most recently Frank Fee, a billing system for lawyers.

Back to the Basics…

Digby is no stranger to competition. His passion as a youngster was sports and he initially wanted to be a professional athlete. Digby has coached high school basketball for 20 years, been on the board of Basketball BC, and the board of Canada Basketball. His fondness for sports has not hindered his career as a lawyer.

Digby worked at a law firm for 11 years before making the executive decision to start a 13 year partnership with a good friend. After the closing of that partnership, he established Digby Leigh & Co. in 2005. His development in lawyer billing procedures, Frank Fee, is currently shaking up the industry, proving that you don’t work a day in your life if you love what you do.

Shaking up the billing industry.

While Frank Fee was on his mind for some time, it was the uncertainty of the pandemic that urged Digby to pull the trigger on developing the brand. With the help of his team, they spent four months developing a base system with variables to create a template for lawyers to use when billing. The new template forgoes the standard by-the-hour fee to a value-based fee of services provided for every case. Once finalized, Digby and his team hired a marketing firm to complete the brand.

On Labor Day of 2020, Frank Fee officially launched and was off to the races. Frank Fee would go on to inspire other billing systems to assist lawyers. Today, he’s working on AltFee, founded by himself and his two sons, with the hopes to create a pricing solution for the legal industry.

Value-based pricing instead of by-the-hour.

To anyone that works by the hour, they know it has its drawbacks. Hourly rates make difficult projects more lucrative but draining, while services that are naturally easier to you and highlight your skills may be less valued, making your career an endless cycle of prioritizing difficult projects because they pay. In reality, the jobs you take on should highlight your skills and what you can produce more quickly. What if those paid more? Well, that’s the root of value-based pricing, making hourly wages increase for jobs you know you’ll excel at.

This changes the age-old dynamic that the hardest worker in the room is the one that works the most hours and instead, your individual talents stand out from the others.

Enjoy the journey.

Digby’s main piece of advice for entrepreneurs is to take chances, follow your intuition, and most importantly enjoy the journey. There are bumps in the road, but if you surround yourself with innovative individuals willing to roll with the punches, you’ll do great things. Your team can either make things feel like a grind or an environment for fulfilling work.