How to Save Thousands in Attorneys Fees
Duane Light
Do you really want to spend your hard-earned money on unnecessary attorneys’ fees? I would guess not!
I’m a holistic legal consultant, and for the last 27 years I’ve been a California-licensed attorney. The information I’m providing here is as a coach/consultant. It does not constitute legal advice or create a legal relationship.
As part of my consulting work, I’ve helped my clients significantly reduce legal costs.
Here are 5 proven ways to save thousands:
1. De-escalate to resolve conflicts before or early in litigation
A past client, Jason, wanted to pull his ownership percentage out of a dysfunctional family corporation. There were bitter disputes over more than 30 years – regarding favoritism in payments and hiring for certain family members, fake books, and even embezzlement for personal purposes (such as lingerie for a non-wife girlfriend!).
I coached Jason to reach out to someone on the other side of the family who might be open to a less expensive and less painful resolution, and how to communicate to reduce conflict. He contacted a cousin who was a close friend during their teen years. The cousin agreed to help, and behind the scenes, without anyone knowing of their pact, they each convinced their side of the family to enter good faith mediation. An important task was to listen to and acknowledge the pain and anger on each side, and helping the family move beyond that. The case settled within a month, to the complete satisfaction of my client.
The judge, at the hearing to confirm the settlement and enter it into the court record, said that in his 24 years on the bench he had never seen such a contentious family lawsuit settle so early.
2. Hire the right kind of attorney at the best price possible (and sometimes get free consultations that may resolve your legal questions).
First, here are two case examples:
I interviewed 3 attorneys for a client, first assuring that they could handle my client’s specific estate closing issues. The first two attorneys were experienced enough, but each required a $5,000 flat fee to do the work. The third attorney I interviewed had more than 20 years experience, and requested a very fair $1,200 flat fee. I had a good idea of what this work should cost, and that of course helped me guide my client to the best choice. SAVINGS: $3,800.
In another case, I found an experienced partner-level litigation attorney for a client. His hourly rate was $550/hr. I was able to negotiate his fee down to $500/hr. To date, my client has saved more than $25,000.
You can hire me to find, interview and negotiate a price with an attorney. If you want to do that yourself, here’s and overview:
Many attorneys will give you a brief initial consultation for free, to learn about your situation and decide if they have the time and expertise to help you. Others charge a minimum fee for the first contact.
A: Search online by subject area so you can create a list of attorneys in the specialty that you need. For example: Landlord/Tenant, Real Estate, Divorce, Bankruptcy, Wills and Trusts, Estate Planning, Accidents, Business, Consumer Protection, Debt, Employment, Nonprofit, Tax, or Small Claims.
B: Research your issue beforehand so you can be an informed client and know what questions to ask. You can Google the subject of your legal issue and read a couple of articles. If you want to go further, go to Nolo.com and buy a book about the subject. With Nolo, you can often take care of legal issues yourself, or at least know more about it. You can search topics and resources at www.nolo.com.
C: If you are involved in a conflict, when you contact a lawyer their first important question is going to be something like this: “Who is the person or company on the other side?” The attorney needs to know this because if they have represented that person in any way in the past, or currently, then they can’t represent you! This is called a “conflict check.” It is very important to not give them your case details at the beginning: if they already represent the other person, you may give away information that can hurt you. The secretary or attorney should do a conflict check before setting up an appointment with you.
D: Write a short summary of your issue (usually a paragraph, and no more than a page). The attorney doesn’t need to hear the whole history or about all the details in advance. The goal here is to open the door – give them a general overview so they can determine if it is the kind of case that they can take on or wish to take on.
BONUS TIP: Once you talk to an attorney about your case, even if you don’t hire them, the other person cannot! I have a dear friend who obtained free advice on her most important questions from 6 attorneys in her area. They all had to be loyal to her (could not be hired by the other person)!
3. Obtain assistance in reviewing your attorney’s fee statements and work
I was an expert witness in a case involving an attorney who illegally billed a client over the course of seven years. The case settled before trial, with a $300,000.00 fee reimbursement to the client.
It is estimated that up to 30% of corporate attorneys (and many private attorneys) overbill their clients. There are several ways that attorneys can overbill – simply recording more time than was taken, re-doing a past task and charging full price rather than actual time, block billing (more than one matter per entry), and mixed-matter billing are a few. You should have another attorney, or an expert, review your legal invoices if you have concerns. You have the right to do this, and don’t have to tell your attorney that you are having this review.
4. Be as professional and kind as possible, always seeking to reduce personal conflict
This goes back to hiring the right attorney (not the old school “fight fire with fire” approach that burns everyone’s emotions as well as money). You can take a firm stance while also being empathetic.
Here’s an example: I took over as trial attorney for a case three weeks before trial. The previous attorney was overly stressed and wasn’t going to do well at trial. As I was reading the depositions, I saw that Carolyn, the person on the other side of the case, was a nurse. She had created a nonprofit that provided free medical care to the poor. I sincerely admired that. I didn’t see her as the “evil enemy.”
The day before trial I emailed her attorney, saying that I read about Carolyn’s nonprofit service. I mentioned that it would be great to end this case so she could get back to her wonderful work. The attorney emailed back “Thank you, this will help.” He passed that message on to his client. There was little to no money to had even with a win. The case was continuing only because it was fed by bitter feelings.
The next morning, we were in court at 9 a.m. for the start of the trial. The judge gave us a half hour to see if we could settle the case, and then left the courtroom. At that point, Carolyn left her attorney and walked across the room to me (this is pretty much unheard of – a client walking over to the opposing attorney!). She said, “Mr. Light, I feel that you are an honorable person, and because you are here, I’m willing to talk about settling the case.”
We worked out the details, and the case settled in the next 20 minutes! So again, this is not about surrendering – we hold a firm line about what is fair. This was simple recognition and honoring about something good that Carolyn was doing. It moved the case from fighting to cooperation.
I’ve coached many clients through challenging communications, helping them compassionately soften their painful emotions so they could take action to reduce conflict. There is power in simply recognizing reasonable requests or positive aspects of the person on the other sides of the case. I’ve had several cases resolve peacefully where the opposing party respected and trusted me because of this simple practice of empathy.
5. Be involved in strategic decisions and choose efficient strategies
I helped a client manage an attorney who was litigating a case for her in another state. The attorney wanted to take a full-on litigation path, including extensive written discovery, depositions, and a Motion for Summary Judgment. This path would have cost, at minimum, $20,000.
I saw a faster, less expensive way forward, discussed it with the attorney, and this path successfully ended the case within 4 months. The total attorney cost was less than $10,000.
If you’d like to have a no-cost initial conversation with me about how I may be able to serve you, you can schedule an initial no-cost minute call below.
DISCLAIMER
This information is general legal information only, is not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship or coach-client relationship.