Have you ever been asked to lower your fee? (Silly question.) Have you ever seen lawyers offering discounts or promotions and thought you might lose business by holding firm on your fees?
Have you ever been tempted to discount your fees for any reason? (C’mon, admit it.)
We live in a commercial world where discounts and bonuses and freebies abound. Competition demands it and everyone routinely shops for the best deal.
Why should the legal realm be different?
Because we don’t sell products, we sell services and those services are an extension of ourself. Our value to the world is measured by our time, our intellectual property, and our reputation, and reducing our fees or running anything akin to a “sale” is an anathema to that value.
It’s also cheesy and sets a dangerous precedent. Reduce your fee this time and clients will expect you to reduce it next time.
Don’t do it. No discounts. Your fee is your fee. That’s what you’re worth, and that’s what you charge.
On the other hand, there might be some exceptions.
Maybe there’s a client who has a lot of legal work and you can justify a lower rate because of the “economies of scale”. Or you’re willing to earn a bit less because, overall, you’ll earn a lot more.
Maybe you have a client who has been with you for a long time and you want to reduce your fee (or waive it) on a few of their cases, or not increase your fees for them when you increase them for new clients, to show your appreciation for their patronage.
Maybe you’re entering a very tough market and offering a lower fee to a particular well-known client will allow you to build your reputation in that market and thus attract a lot of other clients.
Or maybe you have a contingency fee case with a client who won’t settle and cutting your fee can get the deal done.
There could be good reasons for lowering your fees in some situations. It’s okay to consider it.
But be careful.
If you do lower your fee, do it quietly. Don’t advertise it, promote it, or mention it in advance.
Make sure it’s your idea, not the client’s.
Make sure nobody else knows. Ask the client to keep it between the two of you.
It’s better to reduce a flat fee, or offer a lower fee for a bundle of services, or a lower fee for a monthly retainer, than to reduce your hourly rate.
Reasons. So don’t be absolute about no discounts.
But whatever you do, make them rare. The exception, not the rule.
