The scope, the team and the number — agreed before anything is billed.
Most of what clients dislike about law firms happens in the first ten days: no answer, no estimate, and a team they never met. This page is the whole of our process, written down so you can hold us to it.
The first ten days
Step · Window- 01 Day 0 — same day
The conversation
You speak to a principal, not an intake queue. Thirty minutes, confidential, no charge. We ask what the record already contains before we ask what you want the outcome to be.
- 02 Day 1
Conflicts and the honest answer
Conflicts clearance runs within one business day. If we are not the right counsel for the matter, we say so and name two firms that are. That answer arrives inside 24 hours either way.
- 03 Days 2–4
Scope, fee and the estimate
A one-page engagement letter: the scope, the named team, the fee basis and a written estimate with the assumptions it depends on. If an assumption breaks, you hear it that week, not on the invoice.
- 04 Days 5–10
The record, assembled
Before we advise, we build the file — chronology, documents, the numbers and the gaps. You receive the index. Everything we argue afterwards is traceable to a line in it.
- 05 Ongoing
Monthly, in writing
A monthly note against the estimate: work done, work next, budget consumed, anything that changed our view of the outcome. No matter runs past its estimate without a conversation first.
Fee bases
Four · Agreed in writing-
Fixed fee
Defined scope — a transaction, an opinion, a regulatory review.One number agreed before the work starts, covering the scope in the engagement letter. Scope changes are priced in writing before they are begun.
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Capped hourly
Disputes and investigations, where the shape is unknown at the start.Standard rates with a hard monthly cap. Work above the cap is not billed; it is a signal that the estimate was wrong, and we revisit it with you.
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Retained counsel
Boards and general counsel who need judgment on call.An annual retainer for advisory access, board attendance and first-response crisis work, drawn down monthly and reconciled at the year end.
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Contingent element
Selected recovery claims, on the merits.A reduced hourly rate with an outcome-linked element. Offered only where we have assessed the record ourselves and believe the claim is sound.
Three things we will not do
- Bill for the first conversation, or for the conflicts check that follows it.
- Pass a matter to someone you have not met and were not told about.
- Exceed a written estimate without raising it with you before the work is done.
If the matter is live, say so in the first line — we answer same-day engagements first.
counsel@hallren.com