MONTHLY FEE PLAN

Legal Services for a Fixed Fee

Legal fees – The age old problem

You will inevitably, if not routinely, need the sound advice of a good lawyer at different times in your business. But many times people put off contacting a lawyer, worrying that the “clock is ticking” and they are being charged for every little thing by the lawyer, uncertainty as to what the cost will be and unsure if speaking to their lawyer is warranted for a problem like this.

But, if you do this, then you run the risk that problems that lie undiscovered or unaddressed can lead to much bigger problems later on. Or, you can miss opportunities or other ways of doing things that your lawyer may have spotted and pointed out to you. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. Or, if you are one who takes chances – “the fact that I can walk from one end to the other of the dynamite factory with a lighted match in my hand, does not mean that it is a good idea”. And besides, you have enough to do without spending time trying to be your own lawyer.

A lawyer’s work involves two things: time and expertise. Because you don’t know how much of a lawyer’s time you are going to use up on a problem or how often the problems are going to come up, it is hard to know how much you are likely to spend on lawyers over any period of time and to plan for this.

Our solution – The Monthly Fee Plan

For a flat monthly retainer fee we will provide you with a package of business law services. It is much like subscribing for an internet or phone plan. You choose the level that suits your needs. You get a lot of leeway about what is considered to be Fair Play in using this and there are rules to throttle back if you go beyond the bounds of Fair Play.

You can use the Plan for all of our legal services - you can ring, drop in for a chat or ask us to call around, fax or email through a letter or document for comment, get us to send a letter for you, prepare a simple document or get you out of jail (only joking). And within Fair Play you can easily get twice as much legal service as you paid for.

We hope that once you are covered by the Plan that you will call us when you are uncertain about something or just call us earlier on when you are negotiating something important or as a dispute seems to be developing that we can help you to more proactively manage your legal affairs. And a good business lawyer knows how to help without unduly frustrating your firm's business goals.

Frequently Asked Questions:

How much does it cost and when do I pay?

The Plan is for 6 months and the Basic Plan Fee is $600 (GST inclusive). You pay this in advance, it goes into our Trust Account and we draw on it monthly as you use the service.
What services does it cover? All of our usual range of services. We provide most of the legal advice and services that a business owner is likely to require. Refer to our brochure for an indication of what we do. We also have our own guidelines about matters that we refuse.

Is there anything else to pay? Yes. You pay for any out-of-pocket expenses (Court fees, barristers, tax experts, couriers etc.). We don’t usually charge for photocopying, faxes etc. unless there is quite a bulk of it and then the charge is for the secretary’s time involved. If you go over the Fair Play policy then you incur charges at our usual rates.

What is the Fair Play policy?

The idea is to be fair to both sides. You get Value for Money and we have some protection against somebody abusing the system. The Plan is not legal insurance. It is intended for small matters or to cover the start of something that starts out small but ends up big. So there is a cap of one hour of time on any one matter, document or dispute. This starts to throttle back if you use the service excessively.

You can avoid the cap though by using up some of your Bankable Time. You get 2 hours of Bankable Time for every 1 hour you pay for, so you get to cash in your Bankable Time on a 1:2 basis.

Can I Bank any unused time?

Yes. If you don’t use up the time you paid for then you can either extend the Plan Period without cost (pro rata according to the time you have) or add this to the Bankable Time available if you renew the Plan. So if you didn’t use us in the first six months you actually get a Plan for twelve months. You can only carry it forward once and so there does come a time when we claim the money as ours. Or you can choose not to do either of these and instead ask for a refund based on your unused time.

Can I see other lawyers?

Of course you can. This is not an exclusive relationship. We shall see other clients too. So sometimes you’ll be asking us for help in areas where we have been involved previously and we will have to refuse to become involved. We also reserve our usual right to refuse your instructions on any matter.
Can my family and friends use my Plan? Your family and your business can, but not your friends. You can also use it as a staff benefit for your employees or to help an Association where you are on the committee.

Can the Plan be cancelled and can I get my money back?

Yes, either side can cancel the Plan at any time. There is a refund of unused fees, subject to the Fair Play Policy.

Why are you introducing the Plan?

We are experimenting to try and find a better solution to some of the problems with legal fees from a Client perspective. We also want to encourage our clients to work with us on staying out of trouble rather than coming to us to get them out of trouble. This delivers more positive outcomes for our clients.

How do I start?

We have a legal document “ Monthly Fee Plan Rules” that explain the Plan in detail. You must sign this together with our usual “Terms of Engagement” and pay for the first six months before the Plan commences. We suggest that you then use up your first hour with a Legal Wellness Check for your private and business affairs.