We have been in the legal document preparation business for over 37 years. During this time, our goal has been to provide a high-quality professional service at the lowest cost possible. As you know, time is money, and we discovered that some clients were abusing our “flat fee” policy which previously offered clients unlimited calls to our office during their case. In fact, sometimes, a client would call 5-10 times a day asking “just one more question.” The abuses were not by all, but their effect on staff time made it difficult to get work done and resulted in a backlog.
After thoughtful consideration, it came down to two options:
1) Raise everyone’s fees and hire extra staff just to cover the phone demand or
2) Keep the prices the same, set up policies to allow unlimited communication by email and have clients who need to call pay for those extra services.
In the end, we felt having people pay for the added convenience of calling was the best resolution so that everyone was not penalized for the actions of a few. Keep in mind, if staff calls a client to get information, an added charge will not apply. Extra fees only apply to inbound calls from a client (unless we specifically have asked a client to call us.)
We understand, however,  that some clients may want that extra hand-holding or to be able to talk on the phone when they want, for how long they want. For those clients who want the flexibility to call in, they can pay for this extra service on an “as needed” basis.
Email is, however, the preferred mode of communication. What we have discovered is that communicating by email also allows us and the client to keep a record of what was said. This is very important when dealing with legal issues. It’s a win-win for everyone and enables us to keep our fees low while giving flexibility to others who need it.