Sometimes going through the legal process is your last option to seek an outcome in your favor.
Whether you’ve filed a claim for personal injury in a car accident or for workers’ compensation, it’s a necessary part of getting the settlement that you need.
However, you’ll have to spend money in order to receive the legal assistance that you need. The potential legal fees can be overwhelming to see on paper.
Fortunately, there are ways that you can go about saving money on legal fees.
Here are a few tips on saving off the fees without compromising the outcome of your case.
1. Research the Type of Lawyer You Need
There are several different types of lawyers that you can go out and find for the case that you’re trying to build.
However, that doesn’t mean they’re all created equal. Each service comes with its own set of hurdles and pieces of evidence your lawyer will need to go through to give you the best chance of receiving an outcome in your favor.
You’ll want a lawyer that has years of experience in the area you’re looking for such as divorce, personal injury, or immigration. When you find out what that looks like for your case, perform research on how much those fees usually run for.
There’s a lawyer for any legal action you want to pursue. For instance, say a hoverboard you purchased on Amazon exploded.
This post on USClaims highlights that Amazon was aware they were prone to exploding. You could then pursue compensation for Amazon’s negligence.
2. Use Personal Referrals
Generally speaking, you can trust that the rates and fees an attorney lists on their site is close to what you should expect to pay. They don’t want their clients to have any unexpected surprises.
Still, what better way is there to gain insight into what a lawyer’s fees are than by asking those that you know have used that attorney’s services previously?
For example, if you know someone that recently filed for divorce, ask them what lawyer they used and what the rates looked like.
Don’t be afraid to then go to that lawyer, name drop that previous client (with their permission), and ask the attorney if you can expect to pay close to the same.
3. Have Your Documents Prepared
Any evidence that you can provide the lawyer, rather than them having to scrounge together themselves, will save you money.
Because of that, be sure to have all documentation and evidence ready to be handed over to your lawyer.
This will save an incredible amount of time and shave off some fees they might otherwise tack on. Ask your lawyer for a step by step process and give them the necessary paperwork for each phase.
The more involved you are in preparing for the case, the less your attorney will charge you on their end.
4. Only Talk Essentials
It’s understandable that, since your lawyer is the only one that knows exactly what you’re going through, you’d want them to be your friend.
However, remember that this entire legal process is first and foremost a business relationship.
Therefore anytime you talk, even about subjects out of the legal realm, can be costly to your overall legal fees. Because of that, you want to stay focused and only talk about the case.
As soon as there’s nothing else to be said regarding the legal side, end the conversation and reconvene another time.
5. Propose a Business Relationship
Come on now, what’s the first thing that you learned in business about a B2B relationship? Both parties can benefit from the other.
Even if the lawyer is representing you for personal matters, odds are that you have a skill set that they can benefit from.
For example, maybe you have experience with marketing and can help them get their name out there, perhaps you’re an HVAC expert that can provide a free checkup or two.
Whatever the case might be, see if your lawyer is in need of your services and propose a cut down on your legal fees in exchange for your free product or service.
6. Be a Diligent Notetaker
Any time that you meet with your lawyer, you’ll want to take notes. They’ll dump a ton of insight and instruction on you.
That means, if you don’t write them down, you risk forgetting the steps they laid out for you after the meeting is done. Then you’ll need to call them again in order to make sure you’re following their instructions to the “T”.
As previously mentioned, all extra phone conversations can be a reason that the legal fees start to increase.
Several, if not all, of those extra calls and in-person meetings, can be avoided if you take diligent notes.
7. Weigh Your Options
As you research and comb through lawyers that are referred to you, you’re bound to get a list of two or three attorneys that fit what you’re looking for.
If so, all that matters now is which one will give you the lowest rate for their services?
Don’t be afraid to bring this up as you interview them. Ask them about alternative fee arrangements and/or flat fees they might offer as well. It never hurts to ask!
Find the Balance in Your Legal Fees
While legal fees are a bit pricey at times for the service, remember that there’s a balance to be had between legal fees that’s “low” and “too low”.
If you cheap out too much on the legal fees, you’ll be compromising the results of the case. Then those fees will all be for not.
Be sure to read our other articles that pertain to both this topic and other topics that are just like it.
