Subscription-based inhouse legal counsel services are a new business model offered by the legal industry to provide cost-effective legal services.
Farrah Motley wrote this article. Farrah is a qualified legal counsel and experienced lawyer. She explains subscription-based In-house legal counsel services and their benefits.
Subscription-based inhouse legal counsel services refer to a model of legal services where clients can access the services of an inhouse legal counsel on a subscription basis. The client “subscribes” to legal services for a recurring, flat fee. In return, clients benefit from services such as unlimited legal advice, contract reviews, and unlimited access to expert lawyers.
Generally, legal subscription services operate on an annual payment model. Clients make a one-off payment and receive access to a predefined scope of virtual law firm services for the rest of the year. However, each subscription plan is different. Some law firms offer a flat monthly fee to their clients on a recurring basis.
Here are some common types of subscription models that subscription-based law firms offer:
Legal subscription services create long term relationships between the client and inhouse legal counsel – without the client having to hire full-time inhouse counsel. These services enable clients to navigate legal challenges more efficiently, make informed decisions, and mitigate risks, thereby enhancing the growth and success of their business.
Here are five benefits of subscription based inhouse counsel legal services:
Most traditional law firms have a team of specialist lawyers to assist businesses. However, they don’t work in a structured, consistent, and efficient manner. Instead, each lawyer often has their own approach and methods of handling legal matters, which is undesirable for most clients.
Subscription-based in-house legal counsel services provide structured and consistent methods for legal services. They typically develop streamlined processes, standardised templates and best practices to ensure consistent and efficient delivery of legal services.
Moreover, subscription-based legal services provide clients with multiple channels to interact with their legal team to ensure fast and convenient communication. Clients can communicate directly and immediately with their in-house legal team through phone calls, emails, video conferencing, etc. This allows for real-time discussions, clarifications and quick resolution of legal issues.
Some businesses are reluctant to hire a lawyer for simple or quick legal matters because they fear the complexity associated with traditional law firms. They fear the time and effort required to communicate and coordinate with a lawyer. Lack of time can discourage businesses from seeking legal representation, especially for what they perceive as minor or routine legal matters.
However, with subscription-based inhouse legal services, clients can turn to their in-house legal team without hesitation. Moreover, they can access legal support for their day-to-day legal needs at no additional cost.
A subscription to in-house legal services gives clients the flexibility to access custom legal support when they need it. Whether they have a quick question, need to make minor adjustments to a document, or need assistance with tasks such as contract review, regulatory compliance or copyright infringement, inhouse legal advisors are ready to provide fast and efficient support.
Subscription-based inhouse legal counsel services often use technology to provide affordable legal services at a flat fee. Technology plays a crucial role in optimising efficiency, reducing costs, and improving the overall value proposition of these services.
They automate repetitive tasks, manage documents more efficiently, and streamline workflow. This increases productivity and reduces the time spent on administrative tasks, allowing the legal team to focus more on providing valuable legal advice and guidance to clients.
Moreover, most law firms reduce their overhead costs to provide affordable access to legal services for their clients. They operate as virtual law firms to eliminate the need for physical office space and the associated costs. This value for money allows clients to receive quality legal expertise without the financial burden associated with traditional legal arrangements.
Most law firms operate solely on an hourly rate business model. So when clients hire a traditional law firm, they have little cost certainty. Sometimes clients avoid going to a lawyer for fear of the costs. However, subscription-based inhouse legal counsel offers fixed-fee legal services that provide clients with cost certainty. Instead of billable hours for legal work, clients pay a flat fixed fee as part of their subscription. Therefore, clients know exactly how much they will pay monthly or annually.
These subscription plans provide a pre-negotiated scope of services. This scope sets out the specific legal matters and services that are included in the subscription. It ensures clarity and transparency about what legal support the client can expect without incurring additional costs.
Moreover, clients can access legal advice, consultation, and assistance on covered matters without incurring additional fees for each interaction. While the subscription legal service offers a fixed fee for the agreed scope of services, it can also offer additional services outside the scope of services for an additional fee. These additional services can be tailored to the client’s legal needs, such as specialised litigation support, complex contract negotiations, or general legal advice.
Because subscribers to legal subscription services do not have to worry about being charged a fee every time they contract a lawyer, they are much more likely to have even minor matters handled by their inhouse lawyers. This means that their legal matters are done correctly from the beginning, which greatly reduces the number of legal problems. Clients are much less likely to end up in lengthy disputes with their suppliers or customers, because they can contact the lawyer in good time before a dispute arises.
Moreover, subscription-based inhouse lawyers work closely with clients to identify potential legal risks and develop strategies to mitigate them before they become a major problem. For example, when a new law on pay secrecy clauses came out, subscription-based inhouse counsels were able to advise their clients that they did not have pay secrecy clauses in their employment contracts.
Prosper Law is Australia’s online law firm. We provide legal advice to businesses and individuals across Australia. Our areas of legal practice include contracts, eCommerce, publishing, entertainment, legal counsel and employment law.
If you need to talk to an outsourced inhouse lawyer, get in touch today.
Contact the team at Prosper Law today to discuss how we can provide you with advice for a fixed fee or at affordable hourly rates.
Farrah Motley | Director
PROSPER LAW – Australia’s Online Law Firm
M: 1300 003 077
Like this article? Check out 5 Benefits of an Outsourced Inhouse Lawyer
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