home / fees
Fees
It all boils down to the HortenCC difference. We offer superior services with a radically different fee model from the typical law firm hourly billing model. Simply stated, we don’t have time to deal with 6-minute time sheets. We’re busy providing legal solutions.
Our services are provided on a fixed-fee basis. The time-based billing metric discourages efficiencies – it encourages firms to overstaff matters, add marginally useful services and draw out engagements that might be brought to a swifter conclusion. Our clients purchase our skill and not our time. Our clients do not care how long it takes us to complete the assignment; they care about the value they receive. As we see it, fixed fees provide a number of advantages to our clients:
- Our clients are able to budget for their legal costs
- Since time is not a cost factor, our clients do not hesitate to share information with us, which makes our advice more calibrated
We do not keep track of, nor do we bill for, miscellaneous expenses like domestic phone and fax charges, photocopying, secretarial overtime and ordinary U.S. mail as do most law firms. Other expenses are billed at cost.
Basic fee models
We have two basic fee models: flat project fees and fixed monthly retainers.
- Most of our work is done on a project basis. When asked to handle a project, we prepare a detailed engagement proposal that sets out the tasks we will perform, the fee we will charge and when the fee is payable. The fee is normally firm regardless of the length of the negotiations and number of drafts required to close the transaction.
- Our outsourced general counsel services are provided under a fixed monthly retainer regardless of the amount of work involved. If our work proves to be significantly more or less than the client or we had anticipated, we will negotiate a new retainer amount going forward.
We keep our fees lower by reducing our bad receivables
It is our policy not to let the work get ahead of the money. Our monthly retainers are paid at the beginning of each month and, depending on the size of the project, our project fees are paid at the beginning of the project or in installments in advance of each agreed-upon phase. This policy reduces our bad receivables and thus enables us to keep our fees lower. If our engagement terminates early because the client decides not to move forward with the transaction or otherwise, we will refund the client a pro rata amount of the fee we have received based on the work performed at that time.
We are prepared to take equity in lieu of fees
When we feel good about a client’s legal affairs and business prospects, we are prepared to take all or a portion of our fee in equity. The decision to accept equity as a component of compensation for legal services will be treated the same as an investment decision involving a cash investment. A business offering equity will be evaluated for investment potential using a process similar to that used by experienced angel and venture capital investors in deciding whether to make an investment in a company.