Now before you jump out of your chair yelling “It’s a noble profession!!”, do me a favor and read the article first, please?

Over the years, I realised certain lawyers who do things in a certain way, command much higher fees than the rest.

By that I mean they can request sky-high fees and yet clients are ever willing to pay.

Of course, I am not saying that all lawyers should be demanding high fees.

Some can but choose not to, for noble reasons like making sure people have access to legal representation; they deserve our respect.

Some do but direct the money they earn to charity and good causes like pro bono litigation funds; they deserve our admiration.

Some simply do not care about money; good for them.

But what I want to focus on, is the ability to command high fees in the first place.

How do we get there?

While money should not, in my opinion, be the sole purpose of practising law, I do see the amount of fees that a lawyer can charge as a transparent, neutral, and objective indicator of a lawyer’s competence.

After all, if you can do what others cannot, or if you can do better or faster than others can, why wouldn’t clients be willing to pay you more for your services?

You simply have a better product, that would justify a premium.

On the other hand, if your services are subpar, your services are easily replicated, your services are offered by many others, can you really blame clients for not wanting to pay you more?

So, instead of blaming others, I implore you to consider focusing on these 3 things. At least personally, they will be where I spend my energy on:

1. Focus on being the best

While many practise civil litigation, those who can practise them exceptionally well, i.e. who knows the law best, who comes up with the best strategies, who argues most eloquently and effectively in Court, attract most of the clients and thus can demand higher fees.

The 20/80 rule is real; the 20% always commands 80% of the market.

So, while your practice area may have many competitors, focus on doing it better than everyone else. Be faster, be more knowledgeable, be more effective, or be more creative, than everyone else.

2. Focus on doing the difficult

Some areas of practice are by nature much more technical and harder to grasp.

For example, the practice of tax law, the practice of construction law, or defending a death penalty charge, amongst many others.

Not every lawyer is good with numbers, can read architectural designs, or has the gumption to take on a murder trial.

Hence, often even when these files show up in the firm, many lawyers dare not take them and rather refer them to someone else. Those who are ready, able, and willing, will benefit.

Yes, these areas are generally harder to understand, are more stressful, and are tougher to master, but that also means if you can do them when others can’t, you can charge higher fees.

Other examples are urgent injunctions, cross-border litigations, and so on.

3. Focus on combining valuable skills

The third strategy that can lead to higher fees, or rather, the third type of lawyer that I see who are able to generate lots of revenue, are lawyers that can combine legal skills with some other valuable skills.

One combination is legal skills and commercial acumen. These lawyers do not only advise companies on the law, but also on commercial/business strategies. They are strategic advisors to companies, and not just legal advisors.

Another type is lawyers who can do marketing/business development well. They combine lawyering skills and marketing skills, making them rainmakers, as opposed to just workers. Naturally, they get the bigger slice of the pie.

Conclusion

Perhaps some of you may find the above obvious or basic, but it’s always easier said than done.

So many, I observe, prefer the easy things, favour the stress-free life,  and lack the dedication and patience to master the craft of legal practice. They rather complain on Facebook about “the economy”, “young lawyers undercutting”, and others.

Of course, there are other “recipes” to getting higher fees and becoming rich, i.e. connections (normally said with a negative connotation), network and relationships, and luck. But that’s a topic for another day. Focus on the daily grind, my friend.

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