the chief
Message from
seeks to give you more control over your
legal spend at times when you need to
use us.
It is hard in some types of legal work to
be categorical about the price of any
work that we do. In litigation and family
work, for example, the amount of time
that needs to be spent on a matter
depends hugely on the other party’s
attitude and level of co-operation. It can
also depend on the way in which the
Court approaches the case, and that
in turn can depend on the particular
Judge that oversees the case. It makes
advising on the likely level of our charges
very difficult, and of course increases
the risk to you that the whole venture
will become unaffordable. Even in
commercial transactions, there can be
unpredictable turns of event that push
the deal in a totally different direction
from the one originally envisaged.
When buying legal services, different people will be looking for
different things. As in many other types of purchase, some will
be looking for the best service, some will be looking for ease of
contact, some will be wanting to use someone local, and some
will be looking for the cheapest option.
What determines what we buy is a
complex matter. Research suggests
that in choosing a lawyer, only between
10% and 20% of people will choose
a legal adviser on the basis of price
alone. This usually happens for the
more transactional matters so will
be predominantly in the fields of
Conveyancing and Wills. Others will be
looking for good value, but will want
to ensure that they are dealing with
solicitors that are there for the longer
term, are trustworthy, and can look after
them and their family, business, or both,
for the foreseeable future.
Here at Mayo Wynne Baxter we have
set our stall out as a firm that looks after
its clients and staff, cares about their
welfare, and helps ensure that their hard
won success in business and in life is
maximised. But that doesn’t mean that
we turn our backs on the idea that the
price of our service is important. It is
essential that we are able to offer clients
some of the best pricing opportunities
around, in order to make sure that we
continue to stand out from a crowded
market place. That is why we have now
developed our new pricing options
strategy that we will be talking to you
about over the coming months, that
Our approach has always been to be as
transparent as we can about the overall
price, but ultimately we can only price
for what we can see, not for what may
lie in the sometimes foggy road ahead.
That uncertainty is, we fully understand,
not something which our clients find
it easy to deal with. We are therefore
introducing, for most matters we deal
with, a range of pricing options either
for the entirety of a case, or for specific
parts of it. These options m ay include a
fixed price, if appropriate, or may include
opportunities for you to share with us
a part of the risk that is sometimes
involved when pursuing a case. Your
legal adviser will be able to discuss such
issues with you when you instruct us to
deal with your case. The main thing is
that we will give our clients choices, not
just a take it or leave it one size fits all
approach.
When you do instruct us next, ask about
the options available regarding our
charges, and please feed back to us any
thoughts you may have on the strategy
and how it has worked for you.
By Chris Randall
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