Working effectively with your lawyer

Once you have found a lawyer, it is important to be able to work effectively with him or her from the beginning.

The Victorian Legal Services Commissioner has produced a brochure called Working with your Lawyer. This provides tips on what you should do before meeting your lawyer for the first time, when you meet your lawyer and maintaining an effective, ongoing relationship. These hints include:

• Before your first meeting, write down the questions you want to ask the lawyer. 
• At your first meeting with the lawyer, be well prepared and bring along as much information and documents as you can about your legal issue. The more information you have, the easier it is for the lawyer to advise you properly in the shortest possible time.
• Give the lawyer clear instructions about what your problem is and what you hope to achieve. 
• Ask the lawyer what options exist to deal with your legal matter.
• Take notes of what is said to you.
• Ask questions and use the first interview to obtain as much information as you can. Ask further questions if you do not understand anything discussed.
• Ask your lawyer what happens next and how long it may take to deal with your legal matter.

Costs

An important part of working effectively with lawyers is understanding how they charge for their time.

There are two parts to legal expenses: professional costs and disbursements. Professional costs are fees charged by lawyers for their work done based on the time and effort involved. Disbursements are the expenses that lawyers pay out on their clients' behalf to third parties, for example, payments for applying for official records, fees for filing documents at court or for a court appearance by a barrister.

Like most professionals, lawyers charge at different rates. They may charge higher rates if the work demands a significant level of expertise or because of their status, for example, they are a partner within a law firm or an accredited specialist.

Lawyers may also charge for their work in several ways:

• Amount of time - where the lawyer charges you according to the amount of time that they spend on your issue. Lawyers may have an hourly or daily rate. 
• Fixed fee or lump sum - where the lawyer charges you a set fee for the work performed. This is usually done for transactions such as conveyancing or divorce. It is important to ask if other charges may apply.
• Item-by-item - A lawyer can charge you for each task performed such as writing letters, reading letters, photocopying and for other items of work. This is common when your matter involves court proceedings. 
• ‘No win, no fee' agreement - this is where you only pay legal fees if there is a successful result such as if you win your court action. However, you still pay for the disbursements of your lawyer.

Most lawyers charge by the amount of time they spend on your matter. The first meeting with your lawyer is an appropriate time to discuss how much they will charge you. If costs are a concern, discuss with your lawyer if they can provide their services on a pro bono or low cost basis. Also, ask if there is anything you can do to reduce the time the legal practitioner has to spend on the case and so reduce your costs. Only contacting the lawyer when you specifically need to can also save you money. The lawyer's staff can often help you with small queries and this will be cheaper.

Under Victorian legislation (the Legal Profession Act 2004), all lawyers must provide detailed written information about how they charge legal fees to potential clients. Lawyers must also provide further information on their legal fees as soon as the client has agreed to engage the lawyer's services. This information includes:

• the basis on which legal costs will be calculated; 
• billing arrangements; 
• an estimate or an estimated range of the total legal costs; 
• your right to progress reports; and
• contact details of the person at your lawyer's firm to discuss legal costs.

Some questions you may wish to ask your lawyer about legal costs:

• How do you charge - an hourly rate, item by item or a lump sum?
• How much is it likely to cost?
• Will you give me a written agreement that says how much you will charge me?
• Will you give me an itemised bill?
• When do I have to pay?
• Can I pay in instalments?
• Can I pay at the end from any money or assets I get as a result of the case? (deferred payment)
• Can I do anything to make things cheaper (eg my own photocopying)?

Avoiding Problems

Most problems that occur between lawyers and their clients are due to a lack of communication on one or both sides. Therefore, it is important that you have a legal practitioner that you feel comfortable with and whose advice you can take with confidence. This helps avoid or minimise any future difficulties.

If problems do arise, firstly speak to your lawyer or write to them. You could also try speaking to the managing partner of your lawyer's firm. If this does not help with your problem, you can change lawyers or contact the legal complaints service in your State or Territory.

In Victoria, the Legal Services Commissioner (the Commissioner) is an independent person who is responsible for the receipt, investigation and resolution of complaints of lawyers. The Commissioner can deal with issues such as:

• delays caused by your lawyer; 
• poor communication;
• incompetence;
• inadequate service; 
• ethical issues (such as conflict of interest); and 
• your lawyer's action having caused you financial loss.

The Commissioner can also deal with disputes about legal costs not exceeding $25,000 for any one legal matter.

Contact: 1300 796 344 (local call Australia-wide) or 03 9769 8001 (Melbourne)