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Long ago I read a lot of the fee advice provided by the American Bar Association and thought they had it right. Fixed fees only really work for fixed and predictable tasks . For anything more complex they have problems. Take a common task like conveyancing. Even ordinary cases can involve tremendously differing amounts of time and expertise. Often not because of the legal work involved but the human element. Clients who are over demanding, agents who hound you, other solicitors who don't respond, lenders who are poor at replying. A case can take four or five hours or twenty plus hours. Where do you fix your fee? At the average in which case half your clients are overcharged and half undercharged? Hardly fair. Plus you will find you are undercut by other firms. The only sensible way is to clearly define what you will do for a fixed sum but make it clear that any work over and above that is charged for in addition. Clients may want certainty. Don't we all. But life is not certain and I can't see why we should pretend it is and shield clients from the harsh reality that have to pay a fair fee for a decent professional service and that we can no more predict how a case will proceed than they can
Robert