Fee Pressure From Law Firms

BV firms seeing more fee pressure from law firms

It’s a sentiment offered by a number of BV (Business Valuation Resources) firm insiders who completed our short survey on law firm clients. The respondents also indicated that law firms are getting worse at explaining the scope and legal issue of the engagement.

These trends indicate a need to educate your attorneys. Don’t take on a litigation engagement without sufficient time to prepare and disclose your expert opinion pursuant to the applicable rules. Make sure to get all the timeframes and deadlines in a case as soon as possible, so that you can send your “wish list” (document/discovery request) to the attorney with ample allowance for responses.

Make sure the scope of your expert designation fits your experience and proposed testimony. Lastly, be realistic about costs and don’t whittle the scope of the engagement to fit the client’s budget if it compromises your ultimate opinion and/or compliance with professional standards.

BVWire Issue #102-5, 29 March 2011