Controlling Attorney Fees

If you have a legal matter or project that requires the assistance of counsel, you may be concerned about the cost of attorney fees. However, it’s important to understand that hiring an attorney doesn’t require you to go above your financial means. There are a number of ways you can help control attorney fees — and keep costs manageable.

Here are some ways you can be in control of the attorney fees for your legal matter or project:

Discuss Attorney Fees at the Initial Meeting

It’s essential to have an idea of what your attorney fees might be from the outset of your legal matter so you can budget accordingly — and there are no surprises. At the initial meeting, discuss and determine the scope of the project. This includes your goals and objectives, the most efficient course of action, and a timeline for completion.

Importantly, you will need to be organized and able to clearly state your objectives in order for the attorney to give you an idea of the fees you may expect. Any variables that arise could affect the total cost of attorney fees. The attorney also needs to discuss whether any potential conflict of interest exists or may arise during the course of representation.

Confirm the Terms of the Engagement

Confirm the terms of the engagement with a written fee agreement that details who at the attorney’s law firm will be working on the project, as well as how work will be delegated to control fees. Details as to what rates will be charged for services and expenses must be included in this document. If the client is a business entity, trust or estate, the actual contact person should be identified.

Ensure the Attorney is Efficient

A good attorney should be efficient — this can not only help ensure your legal matter is completed more expeditiously, but it can also help keep your costs down. Review the invoices sent by your attorney and pay attention to how you are billed for their services. Do they staff the file with as few time keepers as necessary? Typically, the more law firm time keepers there are working on a project, the more the overall fees will increase — not decrease.

In addition, the attorney should not lose documents, forget details already discussed, and never be late for appointments or court appearances. These kinds of things can result in your being billed again and drive up your costs.

The Attorney Should Have Good Communication Skills

Good communication with your attorney ensures you are kept informed about any updates in your legal matter — which can help you control the fees. Specifically, a monthly update should be provided by the attorney outlining the status of work performed during the preceding month, work to be performed in the current month, and work to be performed in future months.

The attorney must timely provide you with copies of all documents related to the legal matter or project that are drafted or received by the attorney. They must also provide you with copies of all orders issued by the court, as well as all invoices from third-party vendors such as process servers, expert witnesses, mediators, agencies etc. This shows you where some of the fees charged have been allocated.

There Should Be a Clear Agenda for Conferences

A clear agenda for any attorney-client conferences can save time — and thus, fees. You or the attorney should draft a short agenda for all conferences and circulate it before the conference. An agenda organizes everyone before the meeting and usually will reduce the time required. Notably, agendas are also an excellent means of communication and keeping the discussion on track.

Be Mindful of Any Procrastination

Neither you nor the attorney handling your legal matter should procrastinate. Procrastination leads to missed deadlines, rushed work, mistakes, and increased costs.

Deadlines should be known to everyone well in advance. The attorney should provide you with rough drafts of all proposed documents with enough time to review and comment on them so that revisions can be timely made. For most projects and legal matters, real substantive work to move the project forward should be completed each month.

Review Your Invoices

The attorney should invoice you on a monthly basis for work performed in the previous month, and all expenses paid or incurred. The invoice entries should include:

• The person who performed the service
• The date of the service
• A description of the service with sufficient detail supporting how the service benefited you
• The time spent on the service
• The rate charged for the service

You should carefully review each invoice when received and immediately advise the attorney as to any questions or concerns about the items for which you were charged.

The Attorney Should Invoice You at the Conclusion of Project or Legal Matter

You should make sure that the attorney has provided a complete set of all important documents. Depending on the type of legal matter or project, this can include any final orders issued by a court, documents recorded at the register of deeds, promissory notes, mortgages, trusts, wills, or documents processed by an agency.

The attorney should provide a closing file letter that includes details on the attorney’s record retention policy as required by the State Bar Association. The attorney should also send you a final invoice the month after the project has been completed so that you do not receive a surprise invoice several months later.

Contact an Experienced Michigan Business and Estate Planning Attorney

If you require legal assistance, it’s essential to have an attorney by your side you can trust. With office locations in East Lansing, Mt. Pleasant, Grand Rapids, and Detroit, The Gallagher Law Firm offers reliable legal services for a wide range of business and estate planning matters. To learn more about how we can help, contact us online, call (517) 853-1515, or email bpg@thegallagherlawfirm.com.