In this Financially Legal episode, host Emery Wager sits down with John Grant, founder of Agile Attorney Consulting, and Elise Buie, founder and managing attorney of Elise Buie Family Law, to discuss how law firms can successfully design and implement flat fee legal services. Both John and Elise bring a wealth of experience and unique perspectives to the table—John from his background in technology and Lean principles, and Elise from her journey of founding a family law firm focused on flexibility, collaboration, and client-centered services.
Embracing flat fees means adopting a different way of thinking. It’s not just about changing how you charge; it’s about reimagining how you deliver legal services in a way that benefits both your firm and your clients. Flat fee services, while beneficial for clients by offering cost predictability, shift the burden of unpredictability to the firm. This episode explores how firms can manage these challenges, align their teams, and implement systems that ensure flat fee services, to use John Grant's words, are profitable sustainable and scalable.
John Grant's Approach to Implementing Flat Fee Models for Sustainable Growth
As the founder of Agile Attorney Consulting, John has dedicated over a decade to helping law firms transition from traditional hourly billing to more predictable and client-friendly flat fee models. His unique background in both technology and law allows him to integrate Agile and Lean principles into law firms, enhancing operational efficiency and scalability.
John’s hands-on approach to flat fees doesn't include going straight to a new fee structure. Instead, he recommends optimizing workflows, refining processes, and leveraging data analysis to improve efficiency in the areas of your practice where you are interested in delivering flat fee services. Once you have become so efficient that it almost doesn't make sense to charge hourly anymore, then switch to a flat fee structure. He emphasizes the importance of defining clear service offerings and standardizing procedures, crucial steps in minimizing the financial risks associated with flat fees.
Throughout this episode, John encourages listeners to think of transitioning to flat fees like switching from offering a service to selling a product. These insights stem from his own journey of refining alternative billing models. Initially experimenting with fee caps, he quickly recognized the limitations of such approaches and pivoted towards true flat fee pricing where he could productize his offerings.
Elise Buie’s Vision for Flat-Fee Legal Services
Elise Buie, founder of Elise Buie Family Law Group, is a pioneering force in the world of collaborative family law. With a deep focus on putting clients first, Elise has built her practice around empathy, transparency, and a commitment to achieving the best possible outcomes for families. This commitment led her to experiment with flat fees.
Elise has successfully transitioned certain areas of her practice to a flat fee model, allowing her to meet client needs more effectively while enhancing operational efficiency. Her expertise in family law, combined with a deep understanding of client expectations, has enabled her to create service packages that simplify complex legal processes, making them more accessible to clients. Elise emphasizes the importance of communication and education in this model, ensuring clients are fully informed about what to expect and how to navigate their legal journeys. Elise relies heavily on data at her firm to continuously refine the firm's offerings and understand how her team spends their when working on flat fee matters.
Implementing Flat Fee Legal Services: Insights from Elise and John
Designing and implementing flat fee legal services requires a focus on client needs and operational efficiency. Elise transitioned certain areas of her firm to a flat fee model by first ensuring her team aligned around the right reasons for experimenting with flat fees, namely predictability for the client and providing "unreasonable hospitality." She defined each step of her legal processes, from initial intake to final resolution, which allowed her firm to create standardized workflows that minimized scope creep and improved service consistency.
John Grant applies Agile and Lean principles to optimize law firm operations for flat fee offerings. He stresses the importance of continuous process improvement and using data-driven insights to maintain profitability and efficiency under a flat fee structure. John advises law firms to refine their workflows, reduce administrative overhead, and minimize waiting times between tasks. By utilizing practice management software to track performance metrics and adopting an iterative methodology, John helps firms identify and eliminate inefficiencies.
The Shift in Mindset: Moving from Services to Products with Flat Fees
Flat fees, when implemented effectively, demand a fundamental shift in mindset. It’s not just about altering your billing structure—it’s about rethinking how your law firm delivers its services. Instead of viewing your work as a set of billable tasks, you treat it as a defined product with clear expectations and outcomes. This shift requires a deep reassessment of your firm’s operations, from streamlining processes to reimagining how you communicate and deliver value to your clients.
Key elements of this mindset shift include:
-
Optimizing Processes: To deliver a flat fee service, you need efficient and repeatable workflows. Each task in a legal matter should be mapped out, streamlined, and standardized to create consistency in delivery. This reduces inefficiencies and allows your firm to manage time and resources effectively.
-
Improving Efficiency: Under a flat fee model, you are no longer billing for every minute spent on a matter. This creates an incentive to complete tasks more quickly while maintaining quality. In fact, you should become so efficient in these areas, that the hourly billing model doesn't work anymore. You’ll need to prioritize technology and tools that can automate routine tasks and simplify complex ones, so your firm can stay within the fixed price while still delivering excellent results.
-
Delivering Value: Shifting to a product-based model forces a focus on client value. Clients will pay for the outcome rather than the hours worked, meaning that the way you communicate and demonstrate the value of your work becomes essential. Understanding the client’s goals and aligning your offerings to meet them creates more transparent and predictable relationships. John recommends providing clients with a case map, akin to the Domino's Pizza tracker, so they always know what stage they are in and where they are headed next.
-
Prioritizing the Client Experience: With flat fees, client satisfaction takes center stage. Clients want clarity about what’s included in the fixed price and confidence that their legal matters are handled efficiently. This requires proactive communication and a transparent approach, where scope is clearly defined upfront to avoid surprises.
Going Further
To get in touch with John Grant and Elise Buie, reach out to them on LinkedIn.
Let us help reduce the cost and improve the client experience associated with accepting payments.
