5 Money-Saving Tips on Legal Expenses

Getting sued or suing someone is quite expensive. Either way, you are still going to spend a significant amount of money when you face a legal matter.

In case your lawyer works for the Public Defender’s Office or Legal Aid Society, then you won’t be thinking of the fees that you need to pay because it’s free of charge. But if you have your own lawyer, you will be paying for his legal assistance. If can be expensive of course. But if you want to save money, here are the tips that you must remember:

Read the agreement contract

Before signing anything, be sure to read the agreement contract regarding the service and fees of your lawyer. Understand each clause and ask if you are confused. Doing so, will help you understand the limitations of the lawyer and avoid paying for extra charges.

Learn how to negotiate

Don’t hesitate to make negotiations with your lawyer. You can ask him to lessen his hourly rate for you and tell him upfront that you are comparing various firms for your concern. In reality, he is not the only lawyer in town and you’ve got a lot of options out there. Since the standard firm rates are usually flexible, he will most likely to agree and give you a discount. Any reduction will be of great help in saving more money. Additionally, you may propose an alternative fee arrangement to cut down the lawyer’s charge.

Provide quick and positive information as requested

Make things lighter for your lawyer once the case starts. Your emails and documents should be organized all the time, because it will be easier to find them when the need arises. Remember, you’ll be paying extra fees if you request your lawyers to get documents you know you have, but can’t find.

Perform some tasks yourself

Apparently, there are numerous tasks that you can do by yourself. Public record and documents for example can be accessed without the help of your lawyer. You can ask your lawyer what documents you can process on your own. If you don’t do this, your lawyer might get a paralegal and bill you for it. So, talk to your lawyer openly and have everything settled.

Take advantage of obligation-free consultation

From time to time, law firms provide obligation-free consultation to their clients. This is an initial step to make sure your case needs lawyer intervention, and to promote the firm’s services as well. In Australia for example, if you call law firms to ask how to file a divorce, win a custody or challenge a will, NSW lawyers can assess your case for free. You also have no obligation to hire that lawyer in case you need one. In other countries, law firms even provide free one-on-one assessment each month as a way to give back to the community. This is why it is important that you do not hesitate to contact lawyers to ask if you can avail a free legal assessment to save money.

Indeed, getting into a legal battle is both stressful and costly. These helpful tips mentioned above will help you trim down the legal expenses, so might as well consider them.

About Jen Perkins

Likes: saving money, being debt free (aside from our house), zombies, travel, getting money, blogging and dogs. Dislikes: debt, being broke, bunnies, wasting money, not having enough money to travel the world and paying interest. Facebook  ♥  Twitter  ♥  Google+  ♥  RSS

Comments

5 Money-Saving Tips on Legal Expenses — 3 Comments

  1. I agree that you should perform some tasks, yourself. That way, in addition to saving money, you’ll also make your attorney’s job a lot easier. I would still get their opinion, though, before you actually carry a task out.

  2. I like your tip to negotiate with your lawyer for a better hourly rate. Like you said, telling a lawyer that you are shopping around and comparing services may encourage them to reduce their prices to gain your patronage. Even reducing the hourly rate by a couple of dollars can help you save a good amount of money, so it’s worth a try. Thanks for the tips.

  3. These are wise words you’re offering here. Court cases, no matter what kind, are always difficult to deal with, but having a load taken off your financial burdens can certainly make it better. Good information here. Thanks for posting.