Becker Law’s approach to pricing is different than most firms. We use a “Value Pricing” model that sets fees based on the value provided to you, rather than the work done by Becker Law as the attorney. Here’s why we do this:
Legal advice for creatives, startups, freelancers, and small businesses is often out of reach because of high hourly rates typically charged by law firms. Most law firms charge you by the hour in 6-minute increments, and demand thousands of dollars in retainers up-front, all of which really adds up. The result is unpredictable costs; even if you know what the hourly rate is, how many hours is the work going to take? Five? Fifteen? One hundred? When you ask your attorney about what your matter will cost, the usual response is: “It depends on the complexity of the matter and what issues may arise”. This isn’t helpful when you’re trying to work within a budget. Budgets require that you know what you’re going to spend on a legal matter before you engage an attorney.
Also, hourly billing has many drawbacks: (a) it rewards inefficiency and incents attorneys to bill more hours even when it isn’t justified; the more time attorneys spend on a matter, the more money they make, (b) costs are difficult to forecast; all attorneys can say is costs depend on how much time your matter takes, resulting in unwelcome surprises when the final bill arrives, and (c) it interferes with communications between attorneys and clients since the more a client speaks to their attorney, the more they have to pay.
Instead of billing exclusively by the hour, Becker Law uses Value Pricing whenever possible. Value Pricing (a) rewards attorneys for being more efficient in handling a matter, (b) provides clients with fixed fees so that they know what to expect and can budget accordingly, and (c) allows clients to communicate freely with their attorneys, without worrying about breaking that budget.
Becker Law’s Value Pricing consists of:
- On-demand legal packages for short-term engagements such as (a) on-demand counseling, and (b) on-demand projects.
- Monthly subscription legal plans go beyond short-term engagements and address the needs of clients who require on-going legal support, but who aren’t ready to hire a full-time attorney. Subscription legal plans are designed to continuously address your legal needs without worrying about hourly billing running up the tab. Through our subscription legal plans, your organization gets a continuing relationship with an experienced lawyer who has in-depth knowledge of you and your organization, as well as of the laws affecting your business, at a fraction of the fully-loaded costs of in-house counsel.
Of course, where on-demand packages or subscription plans aren’t possible, or simply don’t make sense for your matter, Becker Law will give you our best estimate of the range of costs that might be incurred on an hourly basis. For creatives, startups, small businesses and ongoing recurring clients, we offer a discounted rate of 10% of our standard rate.