Unbundled legal services are a great way for attorneys to improve their practice and help their clients. In short, unbundling means that an attorney offers a list of services, and clients can choose which services they need and want to pay for. This differs heavily from the standard practice of retainer fees and hourly rates, which can be detrimental for both client and attorney in many scenarios.
The benefits of unbundling
Providing unbundled services has many benefits for attorneys. It gives you more control over your schedule, opens you to more possibilities, and allows you to have more dedication to your clients.
More control and flexibility
With unbundling, the amount of flexibility and control an attorney has increased tenfold. Since they are only providing certain services to each client, they don’t have to waste their time with some of the more menial tasks that the client can handle. This allows them to focus more on the things they actually want to work on.
Additionally, your hours can be whatever you want them to be. Since you are working on a task-by-task basis, you can choose when and how you want to get your work done.
Many of the services that come with unbundling don’t even require in-person meetings. For this reason, you have the option to work remotely, giving you even more opportunities to reach clients and still maintain a flexible schedule.
Better pricing and hours
Since clients requesting unbundled legal services only pay for what they need, they are saving money. This not only makes the clients happier, but it helps you too! There are a lot of benefits that come from not working on an hour-by-hour basis.
For one, you can focus more on each project. Instead of trying to get so much done in an hour, you focus on finishing the project or task you are currently working on and then move on to the next one. This helps give you mini victories along the way, as well as giving you more control over when you work.
When you finish one task, you could move on to the next one or you could go grab lunch. You can take a break between tasks without feeling guilty because you’re getting paid to finish the job, not by the hour.
Improved client relationships
One of the largest benefits of providing unbundled legal services is the boost it gives you in your relationships with your clients. Since you have more control over your time and are only providing the services a client needs, you are more able to individualize your help.
With unbundling, it is easier for you to focus on each client’s specific needs. You can also work more collaboratively with a client. All of this adds up to make your work better and to improve your clients’ satisfaction, which will bring more clients to you. And you can feel confident that you are providing top-quality help to the people who need it.
You can work alone… or not
A huge difference between attorneys who provide unbundled services and those who don’t are firms. Many “bundled” attorneys work with firms, which keeps all of their services and clients in one place. With unbundling, though, that often isn’t the case.
Many unbundled attorneys work alone. This can have many benefits, such as the increased control and flexibility we’ve already discussed. It also allows them to take a wider range of clients and have their services reach as many people as possible.
However, as an unbundled attorney, you don’t always have to go it alone. Not only can you work with your client, but you can work with a firm if you want or need the support. The best part about this is that you don’t have to be tied to anyone firm— you could get help or advice from many different ones and still provide your services on your own.
As you can see, unbundling has a lot of benefits. So if you are an attorney looking for any of these benefits, or just something different from what you normally do, consider unbundling. It will give you more control over your schedule, widen your opportunities, and foster better relationships with your clients.
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