It’s no secret that working with a lawyer can be expensive. It’s also no secret that there are just times when you need a lawyer. If you say you cannot afford a lawyer, then you are assigned a lawyer who does not truly care about your case. The cost of a lawyer can also be unpredictable and their rates can shoot through the roof at any given moment.
However, there are times when you need the best lawyer money can buy. If your life or reputation is on the line, then you truly have no choice but to hire only the best. How do you go about finding the right law firm to hire?
That being said, there are times when hiring a top-tier national or international firm, even if expensive, might make sense. But how do you decide what work rises to the level of needing one of those firms? That question can be answered based on the type of legal help you actually need.
If you had to sum it up in one question, it would be “how strategic is the work?” One helpful way to think about this is to break down your legal needs into 3 categories: the company, important and commodity. There are studies that show a consumer can care less about the price as long as the product is delivered at a top notch rate.
It comes down to what the specialty of your lawyer is and how much you are willing to pay. No one knows if they can justify paying a lawyer $600 dollars an hour. But it has been done in the past and will be done in the future. Protection is also a key aspect in paying a lawyer that much. If the lawyer delivers what you are paying him or her to do, then most would say it’s worth paying top dollar.
You will be excited to know that getting a lawyer at a decent rate is becoming increasingly widespread. Not all law firms are out to get your money, in-fact a few are out to save you money. A law firm in the United States known as FLEX and another law firm in the United Kingdom known as Lawyers on Demand are prepared to make a difference.
These companies want to offer legal support at the fraction of the cost of a regular law firm. Many are curious as to how they can make this happen. The key is to providing experienced lawyers but at the same time providing predictable fees. (No fee surprises.) These companies are prepared to lower their salaries and provide legal services to the general public at a smaller rate. The key is to figure out what kind of legal help you need and then go from there. Price and tolerance are two factors that may help this idea succeed.