Strategy One:
With over 800,000 lawyers in the United States, we have found ourselves in an oversupplied market. Obviously with this oversupply of lawyers, one would question, "shouldn't attorney fees be more competitive", the answer is most obvious, Yes...

Although there are competent lawyers out there, some with lower fees than others, it is frightening to see that some of the more expensive lawyers may be competent, while others may not. You do NOT always get what you pay for! Therefore, you need to be more selective, and/or negotiate effectively with the lawyers' fees. You first must examine your legal needs, and get the advice or legal work related to what your needs are. Many lawyers will give you more legal help than you really need, and of course charge for the unneeded service. You must determine how much legal work you will need, and then consider the risks, and consequences. It is important to prioritize...

Strategy Two:
Get monthly billing! When hiring a lawyer, you need to set up a billing system in advance. You should ask to be billed monthly, and request itemized billing statements. When receiving these statements you should compare your time spent with the attorney, on the telephone or in person with that of the lawyer's records. You should not allow too much time to elapse between billing cycles. You need to review the work and services billed for soon after the services are performed.

The benefit of monthly billing is that you will receive at least 30 days of service interest free. You will also find that a high percentage of lawyers will not always be consistent and may bill you 3 or 40 days after the service was completed. prioritize...

Strategy Three:
Don't get monthly billing on a regular basis, unless you are involved in litigation or have ongoing services rendered! When getting monthly billing, you will be involved in a relationship with the lawyer. If you only have "piece-meal" legal work, you may invite trouble resulting in more legal bills if your attorney is used to ongoing consults with you whether you need them or not.

Strategy Four:
Don't get involved in useless contracts! Although many legal issues are different, many are the same or similar as well. You don't necessarily need different contracts or advice for virtually the same transactions. If you are in a similar line of business, you do not need different advice. Redundancy can be very expensive.

Strategy Five:
Let the attorney know that you do not have unlimited resources, and in fact have a specified legal budget, (even if you don't). If you leave the door open, it is very tempting and easy for the attorney, who bills by the hour, to open it up some, costing more fees. Many attorneys do consider the ability to pay and charge accordingly. It can be by raising their hourly rate, or simply keeping the rate the same, but increasing the time necessary to accomplish the task.

Strategy Six:
Buy more information, and less advice! Information can be relatively cheap; advice can be ongoing and end up expensive. There certainly are times that one needs advice, however first obtain information regarding the nature of the problem. Be a good consumer. By doing so you may not need advice at all, or at the very most, need less advice due to being informed and educated about your legal need.

Strategy Seven:
Use common sense and other non-traditional options! Many lawyers have in the past seduced us into believing that we need lawyers for every move we make, legal or not. Yes, we are living in a litigious society, however many things can be accomplished with a little legal knowledge and some back up help. Using the library, bookstores, Internet or paralegal services can save a ton of money resulting in efficient and competent legal help. Do your homework, and ascertain when you really need a lawyer and when you don't.

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