I visited two apartment complexes recently and talked to the rental agents.

I haven’t shopped for an apartment in more than 20 years. In most respects, apartments today are pretty much the same as they were 20 years ago.

However, with regard to price, something big has changed.

Back in the day, when you asked how much rent agents charged for a particular apartment, they told you the number.

“That unit is $800 per month,” they would say.

Not anymore.

Today they say something like this: “We use daily pricing, and the unit will range from $1,450 to $1,900 depending on when you sign the lease.”

Huh?

Seriously, that’s what they say. I’m sure some of you have heard that kind of talk before, but I was kind of shocked.

I probably shouldn’t be surprised. After all, most retail websites use dynamic pricing with the price of a particular item adjusting all the time. I’ve noticed it often at Amazon.

These retailers constantly judge demand, evaluate the competition, and test price as a marketing technique. Price is a moving target.

Why, then, are we lawyers so wound up about price?

I talk to attorneys all the time who are totally stressed about how their clients will react to a $10 per hour increase in their hourly rate. Or they’re worried about a $500 bump in the retainer amount. We agonize over price changes for months (if not longer) before we make the adjustment. Then, after making the change, we view the whole world through the lens of that decision. If a client doesn’t hire us, we blame it entirely on the price. We can’t just change the price and move on. We get stuck in our anxiety.

Dynamic pricing is the new reality. It’s happening everywhere we turn.

There’s no logic to charging everyone the same amount. Demand changes, the competition changes, and price is part of our marketing. There’s no reason your hourly rate can’t be one thing for one client and something else for another. Your retainer amount can differ from case to case. Your fixed fees can be entirely different for the exact same work. Dynamic pricing would be a welcome addition to our practices (of course, make sure your regulatory authority doesn’t have some arcane rule prohibiting this approach).

How much is a divorce? “Depends on which day you hire us. We use daily pricing, just like everyone else.”