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AFR 기사 - Keep legal costs in check
Q&A: Keep legal costs in check - Australian Financial Review 23 April 2012My business just grappled with three legal issues: tax, employment law and then supplier contract. Then my lawyers invoiced me $43,938. What they did was comprehensive but, at this price, I feel gouged right down to each email and call. This amount has blindsided me. Any tips to prevent lawyers from doing this to me again?
Tonkin Corporation chairman Kenelm Tonkin offers these 13 tips for slashing legal costs:
1. Carefully match to law firm by size. Large firms are prohibitively expensive for small to medium enterprises
2. Seek out specialists. Repetition makes a lawyer fast, while generalists are slow. Remember, time is money.
3. Test accessibility. Before instructing a solicitor, call unexpectedly a few times. Accessible lawyers yield quicker results, cutting costs.
4. Assess efficiency. Visit the lawyer’s office. Is the firm well-ordered or chaotic? Eschew the posh conference room. Instead, ask to talk at the solicitor’s desk. Is it a muddle or competing files or is the professional in control?
5. Be clear. Proclaim your cost sensitivity. Say it first. Say it often.
6. Check commerciality. Explain your problem. Ask ‘’what will this cost overall?” Equivocation and obfuscation are red flags. A counsel who cannot articulate your cost trade-off will cost you dearly.
7. Cap your costs. Ask, ‘’Will you take my instructions on a fixed fee basis?” If the answer is no, beware.
8. Quiz a former client. Ask, “Did this lawyer honour his fee estimate and achieve the result you wanted?”
9. Insist on a cost agreement. Defining the scope of work unambiguously is a prerequisite. To save money, stick to that scope.
10. Maximise oral interaction and minimise writing. Unnecessary emails, memos, written opinions and letters exponentially increase your costs. Demand a lean carriage of your matter.
11. Write notes. Legal issues recur. If you record your lawyer’s advice and learn the law, you need to revisit old ground in the future.
12. Select trustworthy lawyers. Trust, honesty and chemistry lead to lower costs.
13. Focus on results, not process. Do not become lost in the solicitors labyrinthine process. Diversions are costly. Stay true to the business owners’ creed of achieving the most efficient result.
유형석 (제이슨유)
Jason Yu CA Solicitor BCom with Merit LLB (UNSW)
호주 시드니 한인 공인회계사 세무사 변호사
Korean Speaking Chartered Accountant & Lawyer in Sydney, Australia
Disclaimer - 법적 책임 면책조항 (Legal Disclaimer)
This is Jason Yu's personal blog space and the contents are in general nature only as well as personal opinions. The writer’s opinions reflect his own personal views and should never be interpreted as being the advice, opinion or responsibility of the firm the writer is associated with.
You should not rely on the information contained in my personal blog because this is never intended to be advice nor comprehensive information and where appropriate, please seek your own professional advice to meet the needs of individual circumstances.
본 칼럼의 내용은 필자 개인의 의견이며, 필자가 근무하고 있거나 관련되어 있는 단체 및 사업장의 입장과는 무관함을 밝힙니다.
위의 내용은 법률 및 세무자문이 아닌 일반적인 내용으로 내용에 오류가 있을수 있으며 자문으로 받아들여서는 안됩니다. 본인의 상황에 적용되는 정확한 자문은 반드시 회계사 또는 변호사를 통해 받으시기 바랍니다.
This is Jason Yu's personal blog space and the contents are in general nature only as well as personal opinions. The writer’s opinions reflect his own personal views and should never be interpreted as being the advice, opinion or responsibility of the firm the writer is associated with.
You should not rely on the information contained in my personal blog because this is never intended to be advice nor comprehensive information and where appropriate, please seek your own professional advice to meet the needs of individual circumstances.
본 칼럼의 내용은 필자 개인의 의견이며, 필자가 근무하고 있거나 관련되어 있는 단체 및 사업장의 입장과는 무관함을 밝힙니다.
위의 내용은 법률 및 세무자문이 아닌 일반적인 내용으로 내용에 오류가 있을수 있으며 자문으로 받아들여서는 안됩니다. 본인의 상황에 적용되는 정확한 자문은 반드시 회계사 또는 변호사를 통해 받으시기 바랍니다.
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