I speak with people all the time who are frustrated about the cost of legal services. When you hire an attorney, who bills you at $400 an hour (average attorney hourly rate) it does not take long for the amount to become high and unmanageable.



1. GET A COPY OF YOUR FEE AGREEMENT AND ALL INVOICES AND READ THEM!!
   When people raise concerns about their legal billing, I ask them if they have a copy of the fee agreement with the attorney and if they receive monthly invoices. Most of the time, they answer no, to both questions. Get a copy of the fee agreement and get a copy of all invoices. You should have a copy of a signed fee agreement. Ask your attorney’s assistant to send one to you if you do not have a copy. Review that fee agreement. The fee agreement should detail the billing rates of the different team members and the services that will be billed. Are you being charged for copying? There may be additional fees if you call your attorney on the weekend… understand the billing. Then, get a copy of all invoices and REVIEW EACH AND EVERY INVOICE. Make sure it is accurate. If there are any mistakes, create a list and put it in an email and send it to your lawyer, titled BILLING QUESTIONS. Also, tell him you do not want to be charged for asking him/her to clarify their invoicing and specific charges. Look for ways you can reduce charges: excessive phone calls, copying, and disorganized revisions.
2. BE ORGANIZED WHEN YOU SPEAK WITH YOUR ATTORNEY AND BE EFFICIENT
   Instead of calling several times a week create a list of all the issues you need to speak with the attorney about and send a request by email to set up a phone call. In your email request, let him know about the issues you wish to discuss. By doing this, your attorney will gather the information and the documents he needs so that the phone call can be productive and less costly. Keep track of how long you are on the phone call. Make sure the billing on the invoice the next month is equal to the length of time for that phone call.
3. SPEAK WITH AN ASSISTANT OR PARALEGAL IF POSSIBLE AND APPROPRIATE
   Usually assistants and paralegals are billed at a lower hourly rate at a law firm. Example: if the attorney bills at $400 per hour, the paralegal may bill at $175 per hour. So, speak with him/her if possible. If you are asking for updates or if information has been received from the other side, the courts usually have team members that can answer those questions. If you are providing documents to the attorney, they can usually be given to the staff member as well.
4. DO NOT USE YOUR ATTORNEY FOR DOCUMENT STORAGE
   Maintain copies of your entire legal file. You should have a copy of everything your attorney has. You paid for it, and it is your file. Do not put yourself in a position you have to call the attorney for a copy of a document – he/she will charge you for that request. Also, when you have to give documents to an attorney – organize them, scan them, copy them but do not drop off a loose box of records – the attorney will have it organized by a team member and you will be charged for those services.

DocuPrep works with clients and attorneys to organize, scan, bates stamp information for litigation at a much lower price than the average lawyer and law firm.

Jonny is the owner of DocuPrep where she is working to bridge the gap between attorneys and individuals by providing document support services. Her resource blogs are designed to provide you with the necessary tools to organize your information and manage your affairs yourself. Knowledge is Power.

Author: Jonny Morales