Lawyers are expensive. Everyone knows that, including lawyers, although we tend to be less enthusiastic about discussing it. But suppose you have $1,600 to spend on legal fees, plus taxes. At $400 an hour, that buys four hours of a lawyer’s time. What can you do with four hours? Quite a lot, if you arrive prepared. This is the idea behind unbundled legal services: you hire a lawyer for specific tasks and handle the rest yourself. Take a small business owner who needs to dismiss an employee. Spend 30 minutes explaining the problem and providing the employment contract and relevant documents. The lawyer spends two hours reviewing the facts, checking the law, assessing potential severance and developing a strategy. You spend another hour discussing your options and preparing for the conversation with the employee. That leaves 30 minutes for follow-up questions and reviewing a termination letter. You communicate with the employee and carry out the agreed plan yourself. This may be enough for a straightforward dismissal. Compare that with firing someone first, getting the law wrong and receiving a human rights complaint 6 months later. Your $1,600 will barely cover the lawyer’s review of the complaint, let alone the response.
Consider another example. A customer owes your business $12,000 and has ignored your invoices for six months. You spend 30 minutes explaining the history and providing the contract, invoices and correspondence. The lawyer spends an hour reviewing the documents and assessing your claim. Another hour goes into drafting a demand letter and explaining what to do if payment is refused. You use the remaining 90 minutes to discuss settlement options, Small Claims Court procedures and the steps you can take yourself. You send the letter, negotiate directly and decide whether to pursue the claim. Perhaps the customer pays. Perhaps they don’t. At least you understand your position and have a plan. Both examples assume straightforward facts and a clear agreement about the work. Complicated problems take more time, and some require full representation. Four hours of focused legal help can still accomplish a great deal. It pays to arrive with your documents organized and your story reasonably short. Your lawyer probably doesn’t need to know what the customer said about you at the 2019 Christmas party.