Whose price is it anyway?

Think about it: Have you ever gone into a shopping mall and found a storekeeper asking you what something was worth?

"I'll take this one," you say. "What do I owe you?"

"I don't really know, sir. There are a lot of variables. What do you think? How do you think we should price this?"

Absurd, right?

Yet in my many conversations about fixed-price lawyering and law-firm value, one question keeps coming up: Who should lead the way to fixing the broken system?

Law-firm lawyers say that change has to be initiated by the clients themselves, by in-house counsel. Tell us what you want, the firms plead. Tell us how you want us to bill you, and then we'll do it look into it. If you don't give us guidance, we'll just have to stick with hourly billing. It's what we're all used to anyway.

And these comments are usually met with bemused silence from the in-house counsel.

On the other hand, the clients are looking for the law firms to lead. We're not here to tell you how to run your business, they say. Make us an offer, and we'll consider it. But you need to go first.

And these comments are usually met with bemused silence from the outside lawyers.

The 25,000-member-strong Association of Corporate Counsel has taken a leadership role in the discussion, issuing its ambitious "Value Challenge" to the law firms who serve its in-house members. It's a good start, and they're doing a terrific job educating their members about what they can do to increase the value of their outside legal work.

But in the end, it has to be the law firms who must lead the change away from the legacy systems and guild mentality to a partnership based on trust and effectiveness.

I want to hear from you, law-firm lawyers and law-firm clients: Who do you think needs to make the first move? Who should propose a new model? Leave your thoughts in the comments, or send me an @message or direct message on Twitter: @jayshep. (Make sure you tell me which side you work on, firms or clients.)

And while you're at it, take this quick, single-question poll.