Best Practices in Selecting Legal Counsel Part 6: Conclusion (Or, Using Legal Counsel)

Perhaps it’s an obvious point, but once a client selects the right legal counsel for their business, then the client also needs to do a great job in using legal counsel.  Yet, clients often fail to get the best results from the legal counsel they chose by not knowing how best to use them.  Here are a few suggestions:

• Be the client, and let the lawyer be the lawyer. For example, when a client drafts their own legal documents and asks the lawyer for a review, that often takes far more time than simply letting the lawyer draft the legal documents from the outset.  After all, the lawyer is a professional, and should have experience and expertise in drafting legal documents.  A client rarely saves legal fees by trying to be the lawyer, and may in fact end up spending more.
• Ask for legal advice sooner, rather than later. Too often the lawyer enters a situation too late to have an opportunity to help prevent or minimize a problem, and then the lawyer has far fewer options for helping to develop the best solution.  Seeking advice sooner can often result in lower legal fees in the long run.
• A corollary to the prior suggestion is: make the lawyer a part of the management team, so the lawyer has a better understanding of the business and operations, and is advising less on an ad hoc basis and more from a position of informed insider.  By investing in lawyer time along the way, the client is likely to get better advice in the heat of the moment.  Then, the lawyer is more in a position to help management make good decisions, and less in the position of trying to solve issues after they become problems.
• Pay legal fees on time or early. This may seem self-serving for a lawyer to say, but it makes good sense.  It’s true in every business, and the same applies to law practice—clients who are great at paying their legal fees often get quicker responses and more enthusiastic attention.  Bonus suggestion:  Compliment the lawyer’s work if it is well-deserved.
• If an invoice for legal fees doesn’t look right, then ask for clarification.  A client always has the right to understand the fees being charged, and to know what services were purchased with the fees being paid.  If the lawyer is reluctant to discuss and explain, or even to adjust an inappropriate charge, then it’s time to begin considering new legal counsel.