Lawyers’ Fees – Someone Do The Maths

THE recent fuss over lawyers’ fees should be evaluated not so much on what is a reasonable tariff for “perusal”, but rather, does the amount of work done justify the payment calculation? What exactly is “perusal”? How is it defined in the tariff structure? I would assume that it means at the very least, reading through a folio to understand the content, and a contemplation thereon as to the significance of the content.

Or can it also mean a two-second glance and a decision, “Not interesting”? And would both cases be justifiably charged at N$120? I am sure that the tariff structure giving N$120 per folio must be based on an estimate of an average x minutes required to consider and absorb the folio content. The alternate tariff of up to N$750 per hour indicates to me that the profession considers perusal to proceed at a pace of about 6 to 7 folios per hour.One of the lawyers at the centre of the controversy has reportedly admitted that the total job was the equivalent of eleven days of work.Now the perusal of the 4 024 folios made up only part of the account submitted.Let’s be generous and assume that the other chargeable work was only two days’ worth, leaving a full nine days for the folio perusal.This gives us 449 folios perused per day.Let us again be generous and assume not an eight-hour day, but nine to 10 hours per day.We end up with almost 50 folios per hour (chargeable rate of just under N$6 000 per hour!) Now the client should ask, “What was the objective of the perusal?” Was it just to peruse – to look through and nothing else? Or was it meant so that the documents could be analysed; to give an understanding leading to a report and recommendations? Why peruse a document unless you are to utilise the information so gained? Does this not imply a careful reading coupled to a thorough thought and analysis process? So the ultimate question for the client is, “Could EVERY ONE of 4 024 folios (charged at N$120 each) have been perused at an appropriate intensity at a rate of 45 to 50 per hour, justifying a charge equivalent to about N$90 – 100 per minute?” If the answer is “Yes”, so be it.Case closed.If not, time to negotiate.Alan Hattle Via e-mailThe alternate tariff of up to N$750 per hour indicates to me that the profession considers perusal to proceed at a pace of about 6 to 7 folios per hour.One of the lawyers at the centre of the controversy has reportedly admitted that the total job was the equivalent of eleven days of work.Now the perusal of the 4 024 folios made up only part of the account submitted.Let’s be generous and assume that the other chargeable work was only two days’ worth, leaving a full nine days for the folio perusal.This gives us 449 folios perused per day.Let us again be generous and assume not an eight-hour day, but nine to 10 hours per day.We end up with almost 50 folios per hour (chargeable rate of just under N$6 000 per hour!) Now the client should ask, “What was the objective of the perusal?” Was it just to peruse – to look through and nothing else? Or was it meant so that the documents could be analysed; to give an understanding leading to a report and recommendations? Why peruse a document unless you are to utilise the information so gained? Does this not imply a careful reading coupled to a thorough thought and analysis process? So the ultimate question for the client is, “Could EVERY ONE of 4 024 folios (charged at N$120 each) have been perused at an appropriate intensity at a rate of 45 to 50 per hour, justifying a charge equivalent to about N$90 – 100 per minute?” If the answer is “Yes”, so be it.Case closed.If not, time to negotiate.Alan Hattle Via e-mail