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Presentations:Last update: 04/29/08 Our 15th Year
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Our Legal Fee Management
& Litigation Consulting Services
- Legal Bill Reviews & Audits: Devil's
Advocate reviews legal bills, including work product, fees, and expenses. Bills can be
reviewed shortly after they are issued by the firm for prompt feedback or after the matter
is closed, and in any form, including computerized data or printed bills. A review can be
made with or without the knowledge and cooperation of the law firm.
Reviews are also provided to law firms seeking to manage themselves. Tailored to the
client's budget and needs, reviews include computerized and personal analysis to answer
such questions as
- Are the fees reasonable?
- Do they comply with ethical, legal, and billing policies?
- Is the law firm acting cost-effectively?
- Is the firm's staffing appropriate?
- Are the firm's strategy and tactics appropriate?
- Is the firm's work product satisfactory?
- Are the firm's performance and results acceptable?
- Parallel services include expert testimony supporting or opposing fee petitions in litigation.
- Law Firm Selection: Selecting an experienced, competent, cost-effective firm is difficult or impossible because clients lack the resources to find them and evaluate their qualifications. Devil's Advocate finds the diamonds in the rough.
- Retention & Billing Agreements: Devil's Advocate designs and negotiates written billing agreements consistent with the client's expectations. Many firms are willing to make significant concessions, but would not dare advertise them to everyone.
- Alternative Fees: Many of the problems clients encounter are a byproduct of the hourly billing environment. Devil's Advocate designs and tests alternatives that allow the lawyer's incentives to coincide with the client's goals. Alternatives not only save money, but reduce the management burden on the client by shifting risk to the lawyer.
- Legal Fee Budgets & Estimates: We assist lawyers and clients to project the cost of legal services, including preparation of fee budgets or estimates. We also help reconcile budgets with bills as they are issued.
- Case Risk/Expense Analysis, Monitoring, Second Opinions & Post-Mortems: Dynamic, independent feedback for clients on quality as well as cost at any point in the matter. May or may not include bill and expense review, but focuses as much on work product, strategy, and tactics as on fees. Often requested confidentially by clients looking for an independent assessment of risk, options, and settlement value, as well as the lawyer's performance. Saves clients many times what it costs, which is a small fraction of the lawyer's fee.
- This service may also be used by third-parties, such as competitors, insurers, financial analysts, or investors, to analyze the status of the case and likely outcomes.
- Dispute Resolution: Settlement, ADR, Mediation & Arbitration: Our risk/expense analysis and second opinions can facilitate settlement by giving clients an independent assessment of status and options. Devil's Advocate can assist a party to present its side of a fee dispute or act as a confidential mediator or arbitrator. Our founder, John Toothman, is a fee arbitrator with several arbitration services.
- Independent Counsel: For clients without in-house counsel (or whose in-house counsel are busy with other matters), Devil's Advocate provides independent management of outside lawyers, including performance and fees. Outside lawyers usually have financial incentives in conflict with client interests-- Devil's Advocate is the expert in the client's corner.
- Litigation Avoidance Planning & Training: Mitigate the expense and risk of litigation by avoiding the situations that lead to litigation or make it unnecessarily difficult. Document retention, crisis management, and information control can soften the blow. Litigation training may include, for example, training staff to take over routine discovery tasks from outside counsel or paralegals. Devil's Advocate also creates custom seminars and workshops for in-house lawyers and law firms.
Or describe your problem and challenge us to find a solution.