Advantages and disadvantages of having a lawyer on retainerAdvantages and disadvantages of having a lawyer on retainer
If you run any form of business at some point you will need to retain the services of a lawyer.
Some choose to seek out a lawyer as and when they are required whilst others prefer to keep one on retainer, paying a certain amount on a monthly or annual basis to ensure their availability at all times.
Some of the main tasks that a lawyer working on behalf of a business will carry out include reviewing leases, contracts, and business agreements; ensuring their clients are abiding by all the latest legal regulations in their sector, and representing the company in litigation cases.
How, then, can you determine whether or not it is worth hiring a lawyer on retainer or not?
One of the main determining factors will be the frequency at which you are expecting to use the services of your lawyer but this is far from the only consideration.
Advantages of having a lawyer on retainer
Probably the biggest benefit of keeping a lawyer on retainer is that you will always be right at the front of the queue if you need legal aid.
You are effectively paying for a lawyer to agree that they will put your needs first over their ongoing work should their expertise be required.
This will allow you to complete all your legal work such as contract creation and review to be completed in a much more time efficient manner, and with much less hassle than would otherwise be possible.
You also won’t have to waste your time searching the market for a lawyer when an issue arises, time that could otherwise be spent working towards securing a positive outcome to the issue in question.
Even if your lawyer on retainer is not themselves a specialist in the area of law that you need assistance with, they will be able to use their wide range of connections within the legal sector to recommend someone suitable.
Although there is inherently an ongoing cost associated with retaining a lawyer, this approach offers a level of financial stability and is much easier to budget for than simply waiting for a crisis situation to arise and seeking out a lawyer each and every time.
It would be great to think that your firm will never be involved in litigation cases but no matter how fairly and honestly you run your company it is impossible to guarantee this won’t happen.
These cases can be highly charged emotional situations and a lawyer can help you ensure you don’t make any silly mistakes, taking a professional and calm approach that is far more likely to wield a positive outcome.
Long-term client-lawyer relationships can be incredibly beneficial as over time your attorney will develop an in-depth knowledge of your business and will know exactly what you are looking to get out of certain situations.
Disadvantages of retaining a lawyer
If there were no disadvantages at all to retaining the services of a Lawyer Glasgow, every business in the country would have one.
The truth is, that whilst the majority will definitely see long-term benefits from taking this approach, it is not for everyone, and there are certain potential disadvantages to consider before doing so.
The main drawback to keeping a lawyer on retainer tends to be disputes over whether or not certain legal services are included in the retainer.
In general, legal advice and inquiries will be included as part of ongoing retainer payments, as will a set fee for additional services offered and an understanding the work will be done as a matter of priority.
However, which services require an additional fee, and how much that additional fee is, can be a matter of conflict so ensure that both sides are clear from the outset about what they are expecting from the relationship and a retainer agreement is signed detailing this.
Another disadvantage to an ‘on retainer’ approach is that you will have to pay a certain monthly or annual fee, regardless of whether the legal services of your lawyer are required during this time.
Whilst a year with no contract disputes or litigation agreements sounds like bliss, this will result in you paying for a service that you have effectively never used.
Should a problem arise, however, you will be very relieved to have someone to call, and the peace of mind and reassurance that having a legal expert just a phone call away at all times should not be underestimated.
Furthermore, if you do use a lawyer even just a few times throughout the year, the money you will save by using someone who doesn’t need to get to grips with the intricacies of your business could prove invaluable.