An openness to original ways of doing things empowers e2.law’s legal practice. Here are concrete examples of them.
We recognize the customer’s legitimate desire for increased value, benefit, efficiency and certainty.
To this end, our approach is twofold.
On one hand, we want our client to pay the appropriate price for the services they require. Therefore, we make sure that we focus our efforts on this by determining, according to the client’s budget, the services with added value for the client (in terms of time, type of service, level of detail of our legal opinions, level of self-intervention of the client to fill in templates himself or to retrieve legal information from valid sources,…). Based on these parameters, the best approach and the best options are proposed.
On the other hand, when certain conditions are met, we may be able to offer alternative pricing (billing based on the volume or stakes of a case, fixed pricing and billing with a fee based on results, or a combination of these options). Here is a non-exhaustive list of conditions that may be taken into consideration:
- A Project Definition is feasible and, if the circumstances justify it, the client is willing to pay for it.
- Our clients are committed to participating in the effort to ensure the collective efficiency and organization of the provision of legal services, for example by recognizing and adhering to agreed upon processes.
- Our client proposes to build a lasting relationship and invests in it;
- Our client undertakes to fully comply with the agreement made on payment plans, including, where appropriate, for example, for fee plans, the timely payment of any sums due.
- We believe that, for the services concerned, an alternative pricing mechanism can help our client to succeed.
- We believe that, for the services concerned, an alternative pricing mechanism is what is critical to helping our client succeed.
- For start-up clients already funded, the budget allocated to legal services is reasonably proportionate to the funds raised and tailored to its legal challenges.
- If there is an effort to be made by the firm compared to a traditional remuneration, this is properly compensated (performance bonus) according to clear modalities.
- The alternative arrangement allows us to plan our work in conditions that allow us to organise it efficiently.
- The client proposes to strengthen our skills in a sector targeted by our development strategy.
At the same time, throughout the handling of a case, we encourage the client to know and respect the firm’s procedures and to constantly understand the respective “tasks” and “next steps”. We make sure to implement a planning process that respects actual deadlines.
The modern law firm can be of variable geometry. Our small team has the required expertise for onboarding people, and pilot a bigger project.
The people working on files frequently exceed the members of the firm mentioned on the people’s page, chosen for their expertise in the firm’s values.
Depending on the needs of each case, we are able to mobilize interdisciplinary teams with variable geometry.
This is the case, for example, in particular crossborder cases, where the intervention of a foreign lawyer is necessary, as well as in cases requiring, even at national level, a particular competence that can be more quickly mobilised from specialised external lawyers or from other professions.
Our firm has the required expertise and experience to coordinate other lawyers interventions, when the handling of a case can benefit from their specialities. We implement it in particular for customers with whom we know well and with whom we have a permanent relationship.
Correspondingly, we can participate in other firms’ s project, to support their efforts in servicing their customers.
The strength of our network
Our firm maintains relationships with other lawyers, in Belgium and abroad, with whom we work on our cases on an ad hoc or permanent basis.
In Belgium, we work with lawyers specialising in specialised matters in administrative law, social law, tax law, criminal law and intellectual property law. Abroad, we have number of corresponding firms or individuals avilable to help us to redirect us to the right legal service provider.
Our firm also maintains relationships with other non-legal professions, such as auditors or chartered accountants.
We have chosen not to formalize these relationships by belonging to an alliance of law firms, because we prefer to privilege, in addition to the quality of personal relationships over the membership of lawyers in a firm, the search for the most specialized skills. We also believe that the interest of an alliance of lawyers who reside in the adaptation of a given working method can also be regulated on an ad hoc basis.
In a more complex and globalized business environment, with a geographically diverse workforce, sophisticated clients demand a firm that is responsive.
When it comes to time, our approach to responsiveness is a balance between your imperative and ours. This approach is a blend of the following elements :
- We help you provide timely advice.
- We help you to sort out your priorities, setting a useful agenda.
- We adapt our pricing to reward you when you organize your priorities correctly.
- We help you develop an asynchronous methodology, which allows us to work on different time slots, thanks to our state-of-the-art work methodology.
- Classically, by working very hard to meet deadlines, when necessary.
