The fear of spiraling legal costs often contributes to businesses “ especially small and mid-sized businesses, waiting until a problem mushrooms before calling a lawyer.  Waiting, of course, means that problems escalate into bigger, more expensive problem.

One technique large companies use to help rein in high costs is the Request for Proposal (RFQ).  It helps avoid surprises by pinning down costs ahead of time.  Long used when purchasing other goods and services, law firms often bristle when asked for an RFQ.  Yet much to their chagrin, a recent ABA Journal article notes that RFQs won’t go away anytime soon.

There’s good reason for that.  Part of the process of bridging the gap between law and business requires lawyers to appreciate that budgets do matter to clients.  Clients appreciate when lawyers manage the process of giving legal advice.

Lawyers who assume a client assignment is the equivalent of a blank check will soon find themselves with a very dissatisfied client.  Those who engage in process management controls, however, who focus on delivering advice cost effectively, and who work with clients to establish priorities by attaching dollar amounts to those priorities will earn their client’s business.

On the flip side, clients operating at a higher degree of legal literacy will be in a better position to appreciate the legal aspects of their business decisions, will be able to flag legal problems while they are small and manageable, and will be able to zero in on strategic business issues faster.  It all saves time and money. 

For more money saving tips see The Business Guide to Legal Literacy: What Every Manager Should Know About the Law. 

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 28th, 2006 at 11:26 am and is filed under Announcement, Costs, Lawyers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.