For a client, it is still really hard to work out if a lawyer is quoting you a fair fee. And any lessons learned from the price transparency regs haven’t effectively transferred into other areas of law like corporate and commercial, litigation or commercial property. Without context legal fees will always look expensive. Quoting an hourly rate on a website or at reception, without any context is unhelpful. Who knew?
One thing that might help you, and your clients, is reframing your price point.
Warning: If you don’t do this, then the usual way for them to get a frame of reference for your price point is to go and shop around…
If I tell you that a cross-selling workshop from me costs £1500, does that sound expensive? If you haven’t bought my kind of workshop before, you may not know – so it’s my job to help you to understand if its expensive or cheap, if its good value for you or not.
Here’s a better example on reframing price:
“If it’s very complicated, this sort of matter can cost up to £5,000 in legal services. At the other end of the scale, if it’s very simple and straightforward it could be as low as around £2000. Based on what you have said I would expect this matter to come in at £3000”.
You’ve just told the client the upper and lower fees for the work and told them where their fee sits. You have given them the tools to make a more informed choice. If you are feeling brave, you can even use this technique to reframe your fees against the competition:
“You will find other lawyers in the local area who will are cheaper – probably 10-15% less. So, I’m not for everyone, but clients tell me they prefer working with someone with over 20 years’ experience who is a specialist in this area of Law.”