With legal fees coming under increasing scrutiny

All law firms, whether they charge by the hour or operate alternative fee arrangements (AFAs), will need to negotiate fees; be it a discount to an hourly rate or a year-long fixed retainer. Budgeting and negotiating skills will be needed by all fee earners with responsibility for agreeing any fees or discounts. The more a firm uses AFAs, the more important budgeting and negotiating becomes.

Budgeting and Negotiating Fees with Clients: A Lawyer's Guide

This is a must-have handbook for individual lawyers, firm leaders, and directors of support services who are looking to tackle these challenges head-on at both an operational and a strategic level. It provides:

• Clear analysis of the increasing importance of budgeting and negotiating fees for all firms whether they have adopted AFAs or rely on hourly rates;
• A step-by-step guide for improving individual behaviour and firm-wide processes;
• Practical tools for generating consistently profitable fee structures.

Supported by case studies from law firms and law firm clients, along with input from other management consultants, this report covers topics including:

• Fee models adopted by law firms;
• How AFAs are intensifying the need for budgeting and negotiating skills;
• Alternative fees - risks and how to avoid them;
• Understanding law firm financial data - a prerequisite for successful budgeting and negotiation;
• Creating a realistic matter budget;
• An introduction to legal project management;
• Overcoming obstacles to negotiating fees effectively;
• Managing the negotiation process effectively;
• Obtaining the desired fees and structures;
• Tips, tactics, and tricks for negotiating;
• Developing a strategy for better budgeting and negotiating;
• Implementing change and embedding best practice;
• Business tools for budgeting, negotiating, and client communication;
• How to operate value billing;
• Best practice law firm negotiation from a client’s perspective.

This invaluable resource also includes supporting checklists and templates to allow readers to start putting the lessons learned throughout the report into practice immediately.