Working with Attorneys

Effective Communication

Effective communication between attorney and client means two things: (1) better legal service; and (2) lower cost.

To understand how and why this is the case, one should understand that, whether they say so or not, all attorneys effectively bill by the hour.  And this includes the ones who popularly market and offer their services on a “flat fee” basis.

How can this be?  Consider that, in point of fact, nearly all attorneys (even those who do a fair amount of “flat fee” - type work) do a nontrivial amount of work by the hour.  Thus, the savvy client asks early on, when getting acquainted with a potential candidate attorney, what the attorney’s customary hourly rate is.  That way, if the lawyer advises early on that his customary hourly rate is $250.00 per hour, and he later quotes the client a “flat fee” of $5000.00 for the preparation of a patent application, the client knows that he is estimating that he is going to spend approximately twenty (20) hours (or less) preparing the application.  If the client, based upon its understanding of the technology, deems that number to be a bit low for the work envisioned, then it’s clear that the two should have some additional discussion about the depth, breadth, scope and strength of the protection the client seeks.  Thus, regardless of the basis of the payment of the fee, legal service delivery (and the value that comes with it) is all about managing time.

So, if you want to maximize value (i.e., get the maximum amount of high-quality legal work out of your attorney at the lowest possible price), then do everything in your power to work efficiently with your attorney.  It is absolutely amazing how much of a difference there can be in the amount of time expended in attending to the disorganized client v. the organized one.

The organized client takes an active interest in learning what the lawyer will be doing to deliver the legal work product the two have agreed upon.  If it becomes clear that there are blocks of information, or documents, or lists, or chronologies that can be prepared by the client so as to make it easier for the lawyer to time-efficiently absorb the facts and / or technical information faster, then the preparation of those documents by the client will result in one simple thing – a greater rate of understanding by the lawyer in a reduced amount of time and, hence, a lower overall bill (assuming you’re paying by the hour).

So, bottom line, ask your lawyer: “What can I do to make it easier for you to do your job better and in less time?”  After he gets past the initial shock he’ll experience in hearing your question, don’t be surprised if he has a few suggestions regarding things you can do to expedite the project.  Take notes and attend to these matters with dispatch.  You’ll be glad you did (and so will your bank account).