Fees & Approach
Why I Price Engagements the Way I Do
Most legal fees are set by the clock. Mine are set by what's actually at stake in your deal. That difference matters more than it sounds like it should, especially in M&A and tax work, where the value of good counsel has very little to do with how many hours it took.
Why not just bill by the hour?
Hourly billing quietly puts you and your attorney on opposite sides of the clock. Every email, every call, every extra hour of diligence adds to your bill, whether or not it added to the outcome. That creates a real incentive problem: it rewards time spent, not results delivered, and it makes clients hesitate to ask the questions that actually protect them.
Pricing around the value and complexity of the engagement instead removes that friction. You know what the engagement costs before it starts. I'm not measuring every conversation against a six-minute increment. And because the fee reflects what the deal is actually worth getting right, not how slowly or quickly the work gets done, there's no reward for dragging things out and no penalty for being thorough.
How a fee gets set
- 1
The type of matter and what it actually involves
A straightforward buy-side representation and a deal that needs an F reorganization, a 338(h)(10) election, and tax due diligence are different engagements, and the fee reflects that difference.
- 2
The tax and structuring complexity
Deals with real tax stakes take more judgment, not just more hours. The fee accounts for the complexity of the structuring involved, not only the time it takes to document it.
- 3
What the outcome is worth to you
A deal-tax issue that could cost you QSBS eligibility or years of avoidable tax exposure is worth getting right. The fee reflects that value, not just the paperwork involved.
- 4
Timeline and the shape of the engagement
A tight closing timeline, a co-counsel arrangement, or a narrowly scoped referral engagement all shape the fee differently than a standard buyer representation.
What this means for you
Cost certainty upfront
You know the scope and the fee before the engagement starts, not after a surprise invoice.
Full attention, not rationed hours
Because the fee isn't tied to time spent, our conversations aren't something you have to ration to control cost.
A fee that reflects the deal, not a rate card
What you pay is set by the complexity and stakes of your specific matter, not a fixed hourly rate applied uniformly regardless of what the work actually requires.
A consultation that counts toward the engagement
The $1,000 consultation fee is credited in full toward the engagement if you retain the firm, so the pricing conversation starts before you've spent anything you don't get back.
Where this doesn't apply
Not every engagement fits a fixed structure cleanly, particularly co-counsel and referral work, where the scope depends on what another firm's client actually needs. For those, the fee structure is worked out directly with the referring firm rather than set in advance. See the Referral Partners page for how that typically works.