The other day a colleague came into my office venting about a common problem she was noticing in her field of legal practice (estate planning).

This particular attorney had returned from a seminar on advanced estate planning practices where one of the presenters discussed legal fees. The presenter commented that if the attorneys weren’t charging a certain sum (roughly $10,000) for the described work, then "you’re getting screwed." In further conversations she stated that quite a number of individuals in the field charged over $15,000 for the service.

Her lament was that she often lost clients because they perceived the cost of a service the same as the quality of the service. I think this is true, regardless of the provider.

There has always been the great debate among lawyers about pricing. Whether it’s "value pricing" or another name, pricing is pricing. I’ve had some blatant discussions regarding pricing, like this one. I’m sure you understand that there are some costs that get associated with a provider’s services, and therefore, one’s "value", arguably, is subjective. There’s articles all over the internet that talk about attorneys charging hourly rates of over $1,000. Wow!

That’s the point my colleague was making: some lawyers are charging outrageous prices for their services because they can, not because they’re worth it.

The problem is, we’ve got it in our minds that in some professions, price matters. We’ll go to the "high priced lawyer" because he/she is the high priced lawyer. We fail to recognize that sometimes (and often) the neighborhood attorney can handle the job just as easily as the high priced lawyer for less cost. Again, we’ve been taught to believe that we should value the competency of a professional service provider by the amount of his/her fee. We see high price, and think high caliber.

Yet, ironically, we’re judging every other product/service by how much money we can save. We’re trying to get discounts on our groceries, gifts, clothing, telephone/internet. We demand more service, for less money, and think nothing about it’s quality. We shop at dollar stores because we can get "good deals cheap."

If you’re deciding on whether to hire an attorney, it’s important to examine a couple things to make sure the money you spend actually results in quality value:

1. Ask the attorney whether they’ve handled your type of issue before;
2. Ask the attorney what you can expect in terms of communication, outcomes, daily expectations;
3. Ask the attorney whether you can expect to call and speak with the attorney, or whether you’re dealing with an assistant or answering machine;
4. If the attorney seems young or inexperienced, ask the attorney whether they know other attorneys they work with who can help them resolve your issue;
5. Ask the attorney what type of work they’ll have to do on your case – is this an issue that the attorney can use pre-formatted forms for (saves you money), or will the attorney need to develop original materials?
6. Ask the attorney what his/her hourly rate is, and what types of "extras" you’ll be paying for – are you paying for lunches, office supplies, etc., or is the attorney "high tech" and trying to save you money?
7. Ask the attorney who will be working on your case;

Whether $1,000 is a reasonable price for an attorney’s services depends on the complexity of the case, the novelty of the issues, the amount of work performed, and the attorney’s specific knowledge and skill handling your type of issue. Like all professions, regardless of someone’s perceived value, you’ll get overrated/overpaid "the flop", and the undervalued superstar. It’s important to navigate between the two, and not get caught by the glitz and glamor of a "high priced attorney", just because they can be. Dig deeper, evaluate, and examine their potential and the value and quality of their services.

If you need an attorney, please feel free to contact our office: (405) 748-0318 or contact@absolutelawfirm.com, to discuss your issue.