Legal
How to engage with a lawyer cost effectively By Paul Hunt*
I’ve been a lawyer for over 20 years. One of the things I hear often is how expensive lawyers are. Part of the issue is of course the complexity of the law and how the ‘other side’ behaves, but there are things I see clients do that actually increase the cost of their legal services. In this article I hope to give you some insight into how lawyers charge, and what you can do to reduce what you are charged.
Time and task
Paul Hunt
Most lawyers charge their clients on what they call a time billing basis. Whatever time is spent on your matter gets charged at the hourly rate of the person undertaking the task. Hourly rates are usually broken down into 10 x 6 minute units. What is hidden in this is: z each task is usually separately billed; and z part of a unit is charged as a whole unit. Something that takes zero to 6 minutes will be charged as 1 unit. Something that takes 6 to 12 minutes will be charged as 2 units, and so on. If you send a lawyer two emails which the lawyer actually reads in 3 minutes, you will generally be charged 2 units (1 unit for each email) – i.e. as if it were 12 minutes! If you combine the two emails into one email, then you would only be charged 1 unit. But make a judgment call, if you are having back and forth emails with
the lawyer, pick up the phone and spend the units asking them to explain the issue to you. Note: if you send an email asking the lawyer to call you, you may be charged for the email and the phone call. Tip 1: Reduce the Tasks – send one comprehensive email, not multiple emails. Tip 2: If there are multiple emails on the subject – pick up the phone.
Give the lawyers what they need Lawyers sell time. They charge you for the time they spend on your matter. If you give them your opinion, maybe the thoughts you have on the matter that you have ascertained from an extensive review of the internet, the football scores, or indeed useful information about your matter, you should expect to be charged for that time. What do lawyers need? Lawyers need facts. — Dates — Times — Documents — Emails — Text messages — Photos — Conversations. Unless a lawyer asks you, they don’t want what you remember about a contract, they want to ➤
July 2020 • CREDIT MANAGEMENT IN AUSTRALIA
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