Posts tagged ‘C2lawonline.com’
How to save money on legal fees – really!
Yes – I am going to tell you how to save money on legal fees! Why? Because this is information that every consumer of legal services needs to possess, and it makes the entire experience more productive, efficient and positive – both for the attorney and the client.
The first – and perhaps easiest – step you can take to reduce the time spent by an attorney on your matter (and thus reduce the fee) is to provide organized, responsive information as requested by your attorney. If I must spend time combing through a client’s disorganized file to retrieve the necessary information, I’m charging for this time. I save time and you save money if I can skip this step and start with a neatly organized file.
In my practice, I often utilize worksheets to assist clients in identifying and organizing the necessary information. When a client provides a full response on the worksheets – along with organized documents (see above) – then less of my time (and thus less of the client’s money) is required for me to get straight to the ‘real’ legal work required. So the second step is to complete worksheets (or checklists) fully, responsively and timely.
A third tip: offer to do some of the work yourself. Yes, I am telling you that there are certain tasks that I am happy to have the client tackle – again, saving my time and the client’s money. Of course, I’m glad to request documents from the Secretary of State – or complete and file simple forms with this office (and many of my clients are happy to pay for my time in doing this). However, if saving money is a priority and you have the time – offer to do as much work yourself as is possible and appropriate, given the matter in question.
A great example of how doing it yourself can save money: you can utilize the c2lawonline.com ‘virtual law office’ to create a complete estate plan online via secure checklists and e-mail communication with me. You save substantially because the process is streamlined (versus the traditional in-office consultation process) – and you, the client, are responsible for execution of the documents, thus saving even more attorney time.
Along the same lines, you can also ask your attorney to be your ‘coach’ – you receive advice on how to proceed, but do the actual work yourself. This may or may not apply to your specific legal matter, but if you have the time and inclination to do most of the work yourself and simply have an attorney as a ‘coach,’ then ask if this is a viable option!
Finally, one of the easiest ways to save on legal fees is to group all of your legal matters together, working with a single attorney or firm. Why this costs less is obvious – an attorney (or firm) who already knows a lot about your business/family/legal history will be able to complete work much more efficiently, even in different areas of the law. Each time you commence to work with a ‘new’ attorney, that person faces a learning curve – he/she must review files, documents, ask you to complete worksheets, and so on, to gather the necessary background and information. By keeping your work grouped with one attorney, this learning curve disappears – and you save in legal fees as a direct result.
Many of my clients benefit from this concept – starting out as business clients, I then work with them on an estate plan. For the vast majority of small business owners, it is crucial that an estate plan adequately address the business – and often the business documents and estate planning documents work together. Because I am already familiar with the business structure, I can skip the step of gathering and processing this information and get right to the estate planning. The result? My client spends much less on his or her estate plan.
If any/all of these steps apply to your legal matter – put them in place and start saving money on legal fees!
Announcing Our VIRTUAL LAW OFFICE – C2LAWonline.com
EXTRA! EXTRA! Today we have launched a new part of C²Law – it is our virtual law office (VLO), called C2LAWonline.com.
Through C2LAWonline.com, we offer residents across the state of Tennessee instant access to our legal services in the following areas:
•estate planning (wills , powers of attorney and related documents)
• business services (creation of LLCs and other entities, contracts, employment agreements and other business documents)
•general property matters ( deeds, leases and other documents related to real property)
In addition to creating documents, we can also answer legal questions and review legal documents through the VLO.
What is a Virtual Law Office (VLO)? A VLO is a law office that provides services to clients via the internet. Clients are able to REQUEST A LEGAL SERVICE directly through the VLO. Through this secure, online process, we provide a cost quote for the requested service. Clients can retain us, pay us online, and then receive legal counseling and delivery of the final legal product (such as a document), all via the internet.
This process gives clients 24 hour access to their legal matter, through a secure online CLIENT EXTRANET. Each client has access to his or her unique client extranet, which is secure and confidential. All written communications and document sharing takes place via the client extranet.
Perhaps most importantly, the cost for obtaining our legal services via C2LAWonline.com generally is half the expense of hiring a lawyer in the conventional way. You receive personal legal counsel and advice, but pay far less because your contact takes place online.
And there are many other advantages:
•you save time (in addition to money) because you don’t have to travel to a physical office – you can complete all aspects of your legal representation from the comfort of your own home (or office, or wherever it is most convenient for you to do so!)
•you don’t have to schedule an office or telephone meeting, coordinating your time with an attorney’s
•all written communication and documents related to your legal matter exist in a single, secure online source that you can access 24 hours a day, seven days a week
•you have access to an attorney licensed to practice in Tennessee, who guides you through your legal matter and provides legal counsel tailored specifically to your needs and goals.
It is *important* to note that through our VLO, we offer a much wider breadth of service than one can obtain through a legal ‘forms’ website such as LegalZoom. We are attorneys, and when you hire us through C2LAWonline.com, you receive legal counsel and advice as part of the process. We evaluate your needs and goals, and offer advice and tailored legal services. Legal ‘form’ websites CANNOT provide legal advice. You get a form, and that’s it – no legal advice, and no way of knowing whether a form is appropriate and adequate to meet your needs.
We are incredibly excited about the launch of our new VLO. At C²Law, we always have been committed to providing cost-effective legal counsel. Our VLO gives prospective clients increased access to our services, at lower costs and in a very convenient, user-friendly format.
We welcome your contact and hope that you will visit C2LAWonline.com to learn more about our VLO and all the services and benefits it offers.
