I decided to write this post as a result of both client feedback and a similar article from a US attorney called Scott Edward Walker. I have reduced his list from 10 to 5 and added some distinctly Irish issues. As a lawyer myself, I hope this encourages debate and highlights areas that Irish solicitors can improve on in order to serve clients better.
Solicitors use too much legal jargon.
One of the most common complaints I hear from clients is that their solicitor has gone into the detail of the legislation or case law in circumstances where the client is looking for a commercial answer.
Entrepreneurs have reported to me that the firm they used simply copied and pasted a previous document from a vaguely similar deal and left many irrelevant sections in. While more experienced entrepreneurs will spot this, it’s a hard lesson for first time entrepreneurs to learn. As one entrepreneur put it, “ they were charging me to tell them they had been too lazy to draft a more individually crafted document”.
Find a solicitor who takes the time to understand your situation and creates a clear, jargon-free picture of how the legal problem might be solved. If they are using ‘legalese’ in the initial discussion and not explaining things clearly, this is a warning sign. If you feel intimidated or don’t understand the advice, do not proceed.
They don’t care about my work
Big Law firms are busy because they often have some of the best solicitors in certain sectors. Unfortunately this can lead to two problems:
First of all, many solicitors will rarely say no to work no matter how busy they are. This causes delays in getting started and delays the deal itself.
Secondly, big clients and big deals will always be prioritised. This leaves small businesses waiting to hear back and chasing the solicitor for what was supposed to be the best advice in town. There is no point in getting the supposedly best solicitor in an area if he or she doesn’t in fact have the time to advise you, when you need the advice.
Using payment milestones, fixed fees and completion dates can help with this. That way if you are unable to get in touch with the solicitor you can refer to the fact that they did not meet their obligations when a bill arrives. Refusal to commit to any milestones shows the potential for delays due to overcommitment.
Junior solicitors do all the work
One of the most common complaints I hear is that entrepreneurs meet the partners when they agree to use a firm and then never hear from them again. It is no secret that most of the routine work in big firms is done by junior solicitors. The problem that many entrepreneurs report is that some firms are charging them to allow trainees do all of their work and effectively ‘learn on the job.’
I hear regular reports of €150-200/hr rates being charged to clients for work done by solicitors who are essentially being taught how to do the work. It is essential to ask for a specific, well-qualified lawyer to have as your first point of contact. One of the top selling points for Access Legal is that we charge the same rates as trainees in big firms. The key difference is that our solicitors are all at least 5 years qualified, have trained in the big firms, and now charge less.
Solicitors slow deals down.
One of the big problems for entrepreneurs is trying to incentivise solicitors to move things along as quickly as possible while maintaining quality. In spite of a lot discussion regarding moving away from hourly billing it is still the most common form of charging.
The best alignment I have ever seen of the interest of a company and its law firms is in the case of Cisco in the U.S. Their Group Head of Legal makes a simple proposition to those who want to provide litigation advice. He offers a fixed sum up front at the start of the year. (lets say hypothetically it’s €1 million). He tells the firm that they can keep the full €1 million if Cisco don’t get sued for the whole year. If litigation costs more than €1 million, tough, that’s now the law firms problem. All of a sudden the law firm has gone from hourly billers to risk managers for Cisco. They review contracts and ensure compliance. They are as worried as Cisco about getting sued, if not more so.
It is harder to do this on a small scale but fixed costs, monthly billing and deal milestones are a start.
Too expensive
Fees are still a taboo in the legal sector and it means that entrepreneurs don’t know what to expect. I estimate that average rates for experienced solicitors in the big five firms are €300-600 an hour. I’m open to being proven wrong if any big firm will publish their average hourly rates. We try to offer fixed costs as much as possible, but we are also open about how much we charge on average (usually half of big firm quotes).
Fee levels are by far the most common source of complaint against law firms and one of the hardest things to predict is whether they are worth it in advance. By reducing overheads and using internal tools law firms can help, but it is important to do a calculation of what the consequences of not getting some advice might be. If a €5,000 bill prevents you from being successfully sued for €50,000 it is obviously worth it. While this is hard to calculate, you should try to ask these questions in an initial consultation.
When selecting a solicitor for a job, start with routine work in order to test if they are in it for the long haul. If they seem to be consistent in their advice let them work up the foodchain of advice to more complex work. Going to a new firm for the first time with a big job can be a mistake. By testing the water with something small, you’ll have built a good level of trust if a major issue arises.
I hope this encourages debate around how we as lawyers can improve and help Entrepreneurs to make better decisions when it comes to legal advice.
