Save Money on Legal Fees
Most clients avoid seeking the legal advice they need out of fear their “quick question” will turn into a mountain of legal bills. However, if you know where to look, and you have a simple and quick question there are ways to find reputable answers to generally applicable questions. Even if you have a more complex issue that requires the advice of a competent attorney, you can lower your bill by being prepared. Below are some business owner cheat codes to save money on legal fees.
Law Firm Blogs
A little-known fact is that expensive high-quality law firms regularly share legal information and updates on their websites and blogs for free (like this one). If you have a legal question but can’t afford to ask a licensed attorney directly, first check to see if a law firm has already published and answered it on their blog. While their blog and website posts are not legal advice, they often share enough information for you to understand what you need to do to be compliant. Unless your business is disruptive, there are few legal questions you may have that an attorney has not already answered for their clients a hundred times over and likely, out of being tired of answering the same question, has blogged about it so their clients can read the answer for themselves. There are many times when you’ll need to pick up the phone and chat through your legal question or issue with an attorney, but it is much cheaper to first check whether a law firm has published legal information on the relevant topic for free.
Government Agency Websites
Another source of anxiety for business owners is complying with government regulations. Best part about most government agencies is that they have a website where they publish memorandums and FAQs explaining what actions they consider violate their regulations, and what actions do not. All for free. Most of the time if you ask an attorney, they are just going to go to that government website to find that answer that you could have, had you thought about it. Furthermore, many government agencies permit their constituents to submit questions about compliance for answers. Here, you get a direct answer from the agency for free about your compliance question. Going directly to the source saves money by reading the website yourself, instead of paying an attorney to do it.
Come Prepared
The most underutilized way to save money on legal fees is to come prepared when you have hired legal counsel. Often, this looks like having your documents organized and labeled when you share them with your attorney. The less time counsel spends going through your own document dump, the less time they bill you for it, so make it easy. Being organized when presenting evidence or documents to your counsel can save you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.
Think Ahead
Lastly, another way to save funds while discussing legal matters with your attorney is to ask questions in a way that will produce an answer that you can use in the future. By that I mean, ask for contract templates, not just a contract that you need in that one moment. If you are going to need multiple sales agreements in the future for the same product, getting a very specific contract will only ensure you’ll need to hire the attorney for essentially the same services in the future. You can ask them for guidelines, factors that matter, and broader questions that you can save for your internal team to use as a guide. That way, your one discussion with counsel can be disseminated to your team, creating your own internal FAQ. Think ahead, your budget will thank you.
Legal advice can be very expensive, especially for smaller businesses and startups. However, using the above few tips can help you go to legal counsel less, and have you hiring counsel from a more informed and organized perspective that increases the value of your discussions. These little cost savings add up with less time billed by the attorney. Also, by spending a more reasonable amount on legal fees now, allow you to avoid the of ignoring legal issues could grow to become expensive litigation or agency fines later. Spend smart now, so you don’t have to pay for it later.
Prepared to consult with an attorney now?