Fixed fees, and where they break
A fixed fee for a whole piece of litigation is a number somebody has guessed. We would rather tell you which parts we can price honestly.
Filed under
Costs
Published
Reading time
5 min
Written by
Tobias Marr
Written by
Tobias Marr
Called 2006
Every note is written by the partner who would run the matter, not by a marketing team.
Put a matter to us
Put a matter to us
Put a matter to us
In short
Ask which stages can be fixed, not whether the whole case can be.
Drafting — one of the few stages that can be honestly bounded
Drafting — one of the few stages that can be honestly bounded
A fixed fee for a whole piece of litigation is a number somebody has guessed, and the guess is priced to protect the firm. We would rather tell you which parts of the work can honestly be bounded.
Pleadings can be. So can a discrete application, a disclosure exercise of known scope, and the preparation of a witness statement. In each case the work has a definable beginning and end that does not depend on what the other side does.
Trial cannot be, and neither can any stage where the opponent controls the volume — most obviously disclosure where their document universe is unknown, or a case where interlocutory applications are being used tactically.
Where we quote a fixed stage we hold to it, including when we have estimated badly. That is the point of the arrangement, and it is why we are careful about which stages we offer it on.
What can be fixed
Pleadings, a discrete application, a bounded disclosure exercise, and the preparation of a witness statement. In each case the work has a definable beginning and end that does not depend on how the other side behaves.
What cannot
Trial, and any stage where the opponent controls the volume — most obviously disclosure where their document universe is unknown, or a case in which interlocutory applications are being used tactically to impose cost.
When our estimate is wrong
Where we quote a fixed stage we hold to it, including when we have estimated badly. That is the point of the arrangement. It is also why we are careful about which stages we offer it on, and why we would rather quote a range honestly than a fixed number we intend to revisit.
Costs budgeting
In multi-track litigation the budget is a court document, not an internal estimate, and departures require good reason. We prepare ours to be defensible rather than optimistic, because a budget set too low is a problem you meet at the worst possible moment.
A fixed fee for a whole piece of litigation is a number somebody has guessed, priced to protect the firm.
This note is general information, not advice on your matter. The facts change the answer, which is what the first conversation is for.
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Fixed fees, and where they break
A fixed fee for a whole piece of litigation is a number somebody has guessed. We would rather tell you which parts we can price honestly.
Filed under
Costs
Published
Reading time
5 min
Written by
Tobias Marr
Written by
Tobias Marr
Called 2006
Every note is written by the partner who would run the matter, not by a marketing team.
Put a matter to us
Put a matter to us
Put a matter to us
In short
Ask which stages can be fixed, not whether the whole case can be.
Drafting — one of the few stages that can be honestly bounded
Drafting — one of the few stages that can be honestly bounded
A fixed fee for a whole piece of litigation is a number somebody has guessed, and the guess is priced to protect the firm. We would rather tell you which parts of the work can honestly be bounded.
Pleadings can be. So can a discrete application, a disclosure exercise of known scope, and the preparation of a witness statement. In each case the work has a definable beginning and end that does not depend on what the other side does.
Trial cannot be, and neither can any stage where the opponent controls the volume — most obviously disclosure where their document universe is unknown, or a case where interlocutory applications are being used tactically.
Where we quote a fixed stage we hold to it, including when we have estimated badly. That is the point of the arrangement, and it is why we are careful about which stages we offer it on.
What can be fixed
Pleadings, a discrete application, a bounded disclosure exercise, and the preparation of a witness statement. In each case the work has a definable beginning and end that does not depend on how the other side behaves.
What cannot
Trial, and any stage where the opponent controls the volume — most obviously disclosure where their document universe is unknown, or a case in which interlocutory applications are being used tactically to impose cost.
When our estimate is wrong
Where we quote a fixed stage we hold to it, including when we have estimated badly. That is the point of the arrangement. It is also why we are careful about which stages we offer it on, and why we would rather quote a range honestly than a fixed number we intend to revisit.
Costs budgeting
In multi-track litigation the budget is a court document, not an internal estimate, and departures require good reason. We prepare ours to be defensible rather than optimistic, because a budget set too low is a problem you meet at the worst possible moment.
A fixed fee for a whole piece of litigation is a number somebody has guessed, priced to protect the firm.
This note is general information, not advice on your matter. The facts change the answer, which is what the first conversation is for.
More from the journal
Civil Fraud
6 min
What a freezing order actually costs
The application is the cheap part. The cross-undertaking in damages is what should decide whether you bring it.
Read the note
Arbitration
7 min
An award you cannot enforce
Enforcement is not the last stage of an arbitration. It is the first question, and it should be answered before the notice is served.
Read the note
Practice
4 min
What we do in the first meeting
Thirty minutes, no charge, and a partner. What we are actually listening for, and why we sometimes say don’t.
Read the note
Fixed fees, and where they break
A fixed fee for a whole piece of litigation is a number somebody has guessed. We would rather tell you which parts we can price honestly.
Filed under
Costs
Published
Reading time
5 min
Written by
Tobias Marr
Written by
Tobias Marr
Called 2006
Every note is written by the partner who would run the matter, not by a marketing team.
Put a matter to us
Put a matter to us
Put a matter to us
In short
Ask which stages can be fixed, not whether the whole case can be.
Drafting — one of the few stages that can be honestly bounded
Drafting — one of the few stages that can be honestly bounded
A fixed fee for a whole piece of litigation is a number somebody has guessed, and the guess is priced to protect the firm. We would rather tell you which parts of the work can honestly be bounded.
Pleadings can be. So can a discrete application, a disclosure exercise of known scope, and the preparation of a witness statement. In each case the work has a definable beginning and end that does not depend on what the other side does.
Trial cannot be, and neither can any stage where the opponent controls the volume — most obviously disclosure where their document universe is unknown, or a case where interlocutory applications are being used tactically.
Where we quote a fixed stage we hold to it, including when we have estimated badly. That is the point of the arrangement, and it is why we are careful about which stages we offer it on.
What can be fixed
Pleadings, a discrete application, a bounded disclosure exercise, and the preparation of a witness statement. In each case the work has a definable beginning and end that does not depend on how the other side behaves.
What cannot
Trial, and any stage where the opponent controls the volume — most obviously disclosure where their document universe is unknown, or a case in which interlocutory applications are being used tactically to impose cost.
When our estimate is wrong
Where we quote a fixed stage we hold to it, including when we have estimated badly. That is the point of the arrangement. It is also why we are careful about which stages we offer it on, and why we would rather quote a range honestly than a fixed number we intend to revisit.
Costs budgeting
In multi-track litigation the budget is a court document, not an internal estimate, and departures require good reason. We prepare ours to be defensible rather than optimistic, because a budget set too low is a problem you meet at the worst possible moment.
A fixed fee for a whole piece of litigation is a number somebody has guessed, priced to protect the firm.
This note is general information, not advice on your matter. The facts change the answer, which is what the first conversation is for.
More from the journal
Civil Fraud
6 min
What a freezing order actually costs
The application is the cheap part. The cross-undertaking in damages is what should decide whether you bring it.
Read the note
Arbitration
7 min
An award you cannot enforce
Enforcement is not the last stage of an arbitration. It is the first question, and it should be answered before the notice is served.
Read the note
Practice
4 min
What we do in the first meeting
Thirty minutes, no charge, and a partner. What we are actually listening for, and why we sometimes say don’t.
Read the note