A legally smart business woman asked me to write a post about how to reduce her legal bill. As a City lawyer, here are my best tips on how to get the most out of your lawyer for less!

1. Give legally smart instructions – Of course I would start with this one! The smarter your instructions the sooner your lawyer can get to work; they don’t have to waste billable time trying to figure out what you want. For example compare “Hey Cara please can you draft us a contract to buy apples from Fruit Ltd on a weekly basis” to “Hey Cara please can you draft us a contract to buy apples from Fruit Ltd on a weekly basis for X amount per box. In each box there will be X apples. We want the contract to last for a year with a right of renewal and we want it to be governed by English law and the English courts have jurisdiction. We also need a clause that states we have a right to terminate if the apples are Y. Delivery should be on Y of each week….” The former encourages a huge bill, the latter demands an efficient bill.
2. Ask a junior lawyer to do it – Unless you are giving a complex instruction there is no reason why a junior lawyer should not be doing the bulk of the work. A senior lawyer only needs to give it a once over to make sure there are no glaring mistakes. When you give a standard instruction request for a junior lawyer to do the work in the first instance, if the law firm insists that a more senior lawyer is needed ask WHY and make them JUSTIFY the senior lawyer’s input BEFORE any work is carried out. You may just find that they back down.
3. Request to see the narratives – Lawyers bill by an hourly rate. As part of that billing structure we are required to write narratives. If your lawyer has spent 7 hours reviewing a contract, ask to see the narratives. They should be detailed enough for you to say “fair enough” BUT if the narratives do not convince you, challenge the bill! This will either a) get you a discount on that very same bill or b) get you a fairer bill next time because that lawyer, terrified, will work as efficiently as possible for you. Most lawyers get annoyed when a client asks to see the narratives BUT its YOUR money and when you’re a growing business every penny counts!
4. Agree a fixed fee structure – If you prefer predictability, agree a fixed fee arrangement! This means that, unless something unexpected pops up in the process, you know exactly how much you are paying each time. For example, if you have a standard sale contract that your lawyer reviews every time you engage with a new customer, agree a fixed fee for this repeat review i.e £50 per contract. You can also agree a fixed fee for a one off instruction. For example, if you need a lawyer to attend a negotiation with you, ask them to do it for X amount and not by an hourly rate. Hint to the lawyer that if they agree to this, you will send other work their way and watch your proposal be snapped up! Lawyers care more about a longterm business relationship in which they receive frequent work than being able to bill full rates on a single occasion.

Now go read “5 ways to spot a bad lawyer” and “3 ways to get the most out of your lawyer” to learn how to get even more out of your lawyer!

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