For example, in my solo practice I try to offer my clients the certainty
of flat fee arrangements, but even with flat fees I still need to determine how much to charge for a project.
Not exact matches
Whether it's a
flat fee for the «book publicity project upon launch»; a monthly retainer
arrangement; or one is hired for a variety
of projects — from the initial book publishing date to ongoing projects related to the book over a period
of time, a good publicist can do wonders... but they can't guarantee anything.
Barnes & Noble did not answer my questions about who is considered the publisher
of the book (James Patterson, Patterson's traditional publisher Little Brown, or Barnes & Noble) and did not disclose how the financial
arrangement is working (whether Patterson is donating the work, receiving a
flat fee or receiving some kind
of royalty based on the number
of bundles sold).
The contract
of that sort
of arrangement depends on the publisher but is some combination
of a
flat fee and percentage
of revenue.
Disclaimer: NerdWallet has entered into referral and advertising
arrangements with certain broker - dealers under which we receive compensation (in the form
of flat fees per qualifying action) when you click on links to our partner broker - dealers and / or submit an application or get approved for a brokerage account.
Generally we focus our attention on the mechanics
of common structures, such as volume based discounting, contingency
arrangements,
flat fee billing, success
fees or secondments.
After all, the only reason that a firm would want to turn down $ 1,000 an hour to bring clients over to a
flat -
fee arrangement is where the latter are resulting in effective rates in excess
of $ 1,000 an hour.
While
flat fee and other non-hourly
arrangements have been commonplace in cut - and - dried legal areas like tax and estate planning, they're becoming more common across the practice areas
of «Main Street» firms and attorneys.
If attorneys avail themselves
of the advances in computer technology in the past decade or two, they can more easily come up with
flat fees or other alternative billing
arrangements — and continue to make a profit, Calloway says.
Before you begin an ongoing relationship with outside counsel, broach the issue
of flat fees or incentivized
fee arrangements.
«At times, we have utilized alternative
fee arrangements — sometimes at our own initiative, sometimes at a client's request — but I wouldn't say there's a significant increase in the types
of matters that are services using a
flat, block or alternative
fee arrangement.»
Serving a moderate - means client base, the ULG provides relatively simple, short - term legal services and offers
flat - rate
fee arrangements or hourly rates
of $ 50 to $ 80 per hour, depending on client income.
Topics may include, for example, how to create a business plan, the key elements
of an engagement letter, how to choose your niche, and how to decide between different billing
arrangements such as contingency
fees, hourly rates or
flat fees.
An article in Inside Counsel gives five strategies clients can use to prevent «runaway legal
fees,» claiming that although more «companies are moving to alternative
fee arrangements, seeking either fixed or
flat fees to cover legal work over a period
of time,....
Many said they were using a combination
of billable hours, RFPs, and
flat fee arrangements.
With
flat fees, capped
fees and other custom
arrangements, the firm is able to flexibly determine the type
of representation you need.
With
flat fees, capped
fees and other custom
arrangements, the firm is able to flexibly determine the type
of representation you need at a price point that makes sense.
But now, tired
of subsidizing law firm gravy trains, large corporate clients are forcing firms to offer alternative billing
arrangements, such as
flat fees, volume discounts and banning new associates from working on matters.
Even under
flat -
fee arrangements, it is still in a firm's interest to keep the cost
of searches low.
While many firms have such
flat -
fee arrangements, they are structured in a complex way that still factors in the cost
of each individual search.
One
of the biggest myths among law firm associates is that a
flat -
fee arrangement means that one can search on Westlaw or Lexis without regard for price.
Flat fee arrangements are based on a number
of determining factors, including the complexity
of the legal issue, time investment (including any research and / or contract drafting, the extent
of involvement
of other parties (such as negotiations) and how well - organized the client is, including the level
of tech savvy.
First, there are many self - employed young lawyers out in the market, many
of whom are using sliding scale and
flat fee arrangements.
The AmLaw Daily contains a fascinating post, GCs, Law Firms And
Flat Fee Arrangements: A Matter
Of Trust.
[/ a] In fact, 46.8 per cent
of respondents to the annual Canadian Lawyer Corporate Counsel Survey said the billable hour is still the main
arrangement they have with their primary law firm, followed by a combination
of billable hours and
flat fees at 31 per cent.
Through this experiment, we'll be able to test, for example, the efficacy
of law firm panels, consolidated legal spend, and
flat fee arrangements.
We all seem to be moving toward value billing — but does a
flat fee arrangement impact service quality or the level
of talent assigned to the work?
The court's decision thus neutralizes many
of the benefits
of the fixed
fee, including administrative ease and shared risk (presumably, if one
of the trigger events for withdrawal
of the
fee does not occur, the lawyer must refund the
fee, which is not the case with a standard
flat fee arrangement).
Followed by a statement from Arthur Klebanoff, chief executive
of RosettaBooks LLC, on the value
of making titles available via a
flat fee arrangement:
The balance
of respondents indicated they use a combination
of billable hours plus
flat fees (30.5 per cent), alternative
fee arrangement (7 per cent),
flat fees (4.4 per cent), RFP process on large projects (4.4 per cent), and «other» (6.2 per cent).
«The hourly rate is still a default setting in many situations but with many
of our boutique firms we do have either
flat fees or some other type
of arrangement.»
At heart
of the new software are complex mathematical models that help firms forecast what it will cost to perform a certain project, and thereby determine if it makes sense to offer an alternative billing
arrangement for that project such as a
flat fee.
We have moved to a
flat fee arrangement for our collaborative cases, meaning that the amount
of work you do will have no impact on your case.
Ms. Shearer also provides a variety
of Other Legal Services and payment options, including
flat fees, hourly
arrangements and «pay as you go» services.
(Note that REBBA expressly prohibits any
arrangement where the
fee consists
of a combination
of both a
flat - rate and a percentage; it also prohibits commission based on the difference between the closing price and the listing price).
Product offerings might include alternative types
of listing contracts such as
flat -
fee or seller - assisted listings, or perhaps affinity
arrangements with other service providers.