Anyone about to buy a franchise is watching their spending, and the thought of legal costs on top of the franchise payments can sometimes be daunting. But getting good advice from an experienced franchise solicitor has its benefits.
So how can franchisees can keep their legal bills under control?
Lawyer Janice Bywaters from Bywaters Timms Legal suggests following some simple rules:
How to manage legal bills
- Be clear in your instructions. Consider what you want the lawyer to do and make sure you tell them what you don’t want or need them to do.
- Read the documents before you meet with the lawyer. That way you know what is in the document and you don’t need self explanatory things explained.
- Prepare a list of your questions and send it to the lawyer in advance of the meeting. The lawyer can have the questions in mind when reading the document and not need to go back and recheck.
- Don’t waste time in the meetings or talk about irrelevant things. Lawyers charge for time spent so the less time spent, the smaller the bill.
- Discuss simple changes direct with your franchisor. You don’t need a lawyer to negotiate everything for you.
- Follow the lawyer’s advice. You are paying to get the advice so why not follow it.