At Warlows Legal we endeavor to ensure that our invoices are fair and reasonable. Time billing is a complex skill, and we understand that if we charged for every minute we spent on your matter, our services would be unaffordable.
We strive to perform tasks in the most efficient way possible to ensure that you can obtain quality experience at a reasonable price. We scrutinise our time entries before finalizing an invoice, and we do not charge for settling an invoice, administrative tasks, or researching issues we should know the answer to.
Furthermore, we help reduce costs by not charging for every email and response exchanged between you and the firm. We keep the number of lawyers to a minimum at meetings to provide the most efficient service. If a matter is urgent, we will need to apply more resources than normal to ensure that we get a quick turnaround on the work to be completed. When sending an invoice, the essence of our endeavours is to summarise the work done on your matter, removing anything we feel is unnecessary so that you receive a fairly priced invoice.
You are always welcome to inquire about your invoice. However, we have set out the below FAQs so that you can understand our processes at a glance, and how to keep your fees as low as possible.
FAQs for Billing
Two lawyers worked on the same task. Why should I pay for two lawyers to work on the same task?
Often, we will ask a less expensive resource such as a clerk, graduate or junior lawyer, to attend to a time-consuming aspect of a task. We will then ask a more expensive resource such as an Associate, Senior Associate, Special Counsel or Partner, to attend to finalising a matter or a piece of correspondence. This is to ensure that completing the task costs you less than if a senior resource were to attend to it from the outset. A Partner must also review and settle all correspondence and documentation from the firm, so at times you will see a charge from a junior resource “drafting” a document, and then the senior resource “settling” the document.
Two lawyers charged for the same meeting. Why do I need to pay for two lawyers to attend the same meeting?
At times we will charge for two lawyers to attend a meeting, however this is the exception and not the rule. We would apply this exception if the matter were urgent and we must engage a larger than normal team, or if the matter traverses multiple issues, and we require two specialists working on the matter.
How can I keep communication costs down at Warlows Legal?
It becomes difficult when people text, WhatsApp, or email at all hours of day and night, because communications become messy and confused. Therefore, it is recommended that you use the official channels to communicate and avoid texting after business hours to ensure proper facilitation of your matter and to keep communications costs down to the minimum.
Do I get charged for every email and for every response?
While technically we are entitled to do so, we do not charge for every email. We try our best to be as fair-minded as possible and not charge unless we receive multiple communications that would require us to give more time and attention.
What happens to all my communications?
What does Warlows Legal recommend to efficiently run my matter?
We recommend a fortnightly conference catch-up to answer questions and work on the case. That way, it is half an hour only, and you can gather all your questions, send them in advance of the conference, and we can respond to them in an orderly way.
Please let us know if you would like this option, and we will preschedule conferences and send you a reminder to submit your questions to us three days prior to the conference. Of course, if something urgent comes up, you should always feel free to contact us.
Another way of saving costs is if you summarise the information relevant to your matter for us. For example, if your matter is a charity or a will, we send you very detailed information requests. If your matter is a commercial document, giving us as much context about the parties and the proposed project, lease or arrangement is very helpful. If your matter is a litigation matter or a dispute, a detailed chronology with hyperlinked documents could save you thousands of dollars, which you may otherwise have to spend for one of our staff members to collate the same information.
Why are hourly rates so high?
As lawyers, we must pay for professional indemnity insurance, rent, resources such as access to legal cases and texts, and training. Warlows Legal aims to be in the mid-range of hourly rates charged by lawyers in Melbourne. Our partners have years of experience in top-tier legal firms, where the hourly rates are significantly higher. You are receiving the benefit of that experience at a significantly lower rate. In addition, we are proud to dedicate a significantly large proportion of your fees to ensuring that we have top quality legal resources, the best training possible, and a large legal library so that you are able to receive high quality service.
Why can't you fix your fees?
We fix our fees for any work we know that we can deliver at a finalised rate. We will give our best estimate of a litigation matter at the outset, and we review our matters regularly to ensure that any costs updates are communicated where relevant.
However, a precision estimate requires known circumstances; in litigation, this is simply impossible. We do not know how an opponent in litigation will conduct themselves, nor will we be able to know the evidence at the commencement of a matter. We also cannot predict the impact that any changes to legislation or case law may have on your matter.
I can’t afford your legal fees, but my case is strong; can you do a no win no fee arrangement?
We completely understand how onerous and stressful it is to have legal fees to pay. However, we do not have the financial structure to do no win, no fee cases. There are firms that do this arrangement; however, it is rare for the type of work that we do. We have found a great litigation funding company, and we can pass on their name if you feel that could be an option to finance your case. To be clear, we do not receive benefit from this company, nor tickets to shows, financial benefits or client referrals.
We engage with pro bono matters from time to time, however these are for specific matters, including: support of endangered species, assisting efforts to reduce or eradicate homelessness, African women’s gynaecological health, and education for children in East Timor. Additionally, we provide low bono services for Jewish community charities and for Indigenous Australians seeking to establish a business.
Whilst we wish to serve all our clients without charge, we reluctantly narrow our pro bono and low bono services based on causes we feel most require our help, and where we feel we can create a tangible impact.
Can you give me a discount so I can afford to get legal help / can I pay in instalments?
We are willing to consider any reasonable arrangement of reduced fees or instalment payments. We try to deliver high quality legal services to those that may struggle in a way that makes it possible for them to receive legal help.
If you would like to explore our services, please get in touch with us using the contact information below, and we will respond to your inquiry as soon as possible.
Our Legal Team
Behind our brilliant results are a team of talented and agile lawyers. Committed to legal excellence, our practitioners deliver balanced solutions to commercial issues. We bring together a wide range of legal expertise and experience to create the right result, in the right manner.
Areas of Law
The Warlows Legal team efficiently provides advice and strategic solutions for a wide range of legal issues. By combining technology with talented lawyers, you benefit from legal excellence.
About
Our commitment to legal excellence, innovation and social justice means you benefit from legal advice of the highest quality. These key values form the basis of our firm’s perspective on every case we undertake. As a firm, it is our responsibility to provide ethical, efficient and results-driven services.
Client Testimonials
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Our expertise in our respective fields is widely acknowledged. Drawing upon our practical experience, we consistently produce the positive and reliable results our clients expect. We would love to stay connected with you and keep you up to date with all relevant legal issues and expertise.
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