How much should I charge for my expert witness
services? It’s an important question that will determine
the success of your consulting practice.
You can establish competitive pricing levels in several
ways. One way is to discretely conduct some research to
find out what other experts are charging. Another way is
to review pertinent court records, since experts have to
disclose their rates as part of their Rule 26 or
equivalent reports.
SEAK
publishes a reference book that you might find useful in
creating your rate structure. Ask for the “National Guide
to Expert Witness Fees and Billing Procedures,” written by
Alex Babitsky, MBA, Steven Babitsky, Esq., and James J.
Mangraviti, Jr., Esq.
Now that you have a better sense of how to set your
hourly rates, here are five tips to help you prepare a
competitive rate card:
1. Get it in writing! Always start
with a letter of engagement that clearly identifies your
rates and business terms. You want to be entirely clear
on how and when you will get paid.
2. Establish a minimum. Regardless of
the job size, you have to set all your other work aside in
order to concentrate on every new case. Consider setting
a 5 or 10 hour minimum for smaller jobs. This policy will
reimburse you for the value you provide to your client.
3. Ask for a retainer. You can insure
payment by asking for a retainer that gets replenished as
funds are drawn down over the course of your assignment.
4. Implement a cancellation fee. The
vast majority of cases settle out of court, so you could
easily find yourself with holes in your calendar where you
once had billable hour commitments for depositions or
court testimony. Your cancellation fee may vary with the
degree of notice you receive. For example, perhaps there
is no penalty for cancellation 10 days prior to an
engagement, but a 50% fee for cancellation 48 hours in
advance.
5. Review your rates. An annual rate
increase is a fairly common business practice. Take a
look at your rates every December and update your rate
card as of January 1st of every year. As a rule of thumb,
you generally have some room to increase your rates if
none of your clients complains about them. Test higher
rates on your new clients.
Always remember, you are paid for your knowledge and
not your testimony. Price and bill accordingly.
Find out how an attorney might try to use your name
without compensating you. Get more ideas on creating the
best rate card for your practice. Simply contact the
author to discuss your business requirements.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Margaret Grisdela
is President of
Expert Law Marketing and
Legal Expert Connections, specializing in business
development in the legal and litigation support market for
attorneys, law firms and experts. She served as the 2005
President of the Florida Direct Marketing Association. You
can reach her at
mg@legalexpertconnections.com.
More Information about the author at
Legal Expert Connections, Inc.
Copyright - (c) Legal Expert Connections, Inc.
