by Linda Julian

Clients bargaining with their law firms comes in many forms: subtle, smart, friendly, productive through to nasty, bullying, and destructive.

At their peril, lawyers treat with disdain clients who want to bargain. It is perfectly reasonable for clients to care about their money and it's smart for you to show that you respect them and care to help them get the best value for what they spend with you.

In many areas where supply of lawyers exceeds demand, and there are at least some acceptable alternative providers, clients hold the whip hand. Lawyers are forced to retreat to the best terms they can negotiate or occasionally acquiesce entirely.

Even where there is little appetite for change of legal provider, careful tactics are necessary when bargaining is in the air. Handled badly, what starts as a polite and pretty positive price and terms discussion can escalate into risky bargaining and foster bad feelings and disputes down the line.

The wrong response to client instigated bargaining can lead to emotional overreactions, unexpected consequences, and loss of business judgement.

Carefully crafted bargaining tactics can preserve revenues, build relationships, and even help some clients back off a little (without loss of face).

Avoid the downward spiral into losing share of client spend and revenues by:

> showing respect for a client's interest in their buying terms
> engaging in constructive bargaining
> valuing their business relationship with you
> avoiding bitter struggles (after all, unless your work is one of those truly high-demand, low availability segments, they have the upper hand).

Once your business relationship is damaged by the wrong kind of bargaining, it may be a nightmare to repair

Walking into a bargaining forum, many lawyers and other professionals are naively optimistic. Understand your value and where you produce greatest value for your cost.

Some clients simply want cheap.

You may be convinced that you do great work, are well liked, and truly valuable. But before you up the ante by simply standing your righteous ground, consider the evidence and consider the alternatives from their perspective. (Only rarely is there no realistic alternative.)

Most boards, business owners, and successful individuals would regard it as a black mark and irresponsible to pay more than the best available fair price for most things. They may be prepared to pay far more for:

> rarity
> scarcity
> prestige
> reputation enhancement
> ease
> risk reduction, and
> insurance against bad outcomes.

Choose and execute bargaining tactics well. To do so is wise and great.

Learn more at www.julianmidwinter.com.au