Fixed-Fee Legal Quotes: Scope Comparison Example

Compare the legal output in each proposal

Proposal A includes a meeting to discuss the document. Proposal B includes reading the nominated version, a meeting and written amendments. Proposal C includes review, amendments and a defined negotiation stage. Before ranking them, ask each office what the deliverable actually contains. Does ‘review’ mean identifying issues verbally, writing advice or revising the document? Does ‘negotiation’ include one exchange or continuing discussions? A label that sounds familiar can conceal work you need to clarify.

Match the legal quote to your next decision

The client in this example first needs to understand whether to continue with the proposed transaction. That may call for a defined advice stage before a wider negotiation engagement. Another client may already have decided to proceed and need revisions ready to send. Neither client should select a package solely because it includes more tasks. Write down the immediate decision, the information required and the output you expect to retain afterwards. Then ask the firms to explain how their proposed scope supports that decision.

A comparison card for each proposal

Create one card per office and complete it from the firm's actual response. Leave unanswered points visible. Do not fill a missing figure with a market average or assume GST and expenses are treated identically. If an office revises its proposal after clarification, replace the comparison with that dated version while retaining the original for reference.

• Requested task: review the named document for the stated purpose.
• Included output: oral advice, written advice, amendments or another specified result.
• Material reviewed: document version and any supporting records.
• Follow-up: included meeting, questions or negotiation rounds.
• Price basis: fixed amount, hourly estimate or stages, with exclusions identified.
• Change trigger: the event that requires a revised scope and cost discussion.

Identify excluded legal work and later stages

Ask: ‘What would I still need to arrange after this stage?’ Proposal A might leave drafting to a separate engagement. Proposal B might produce amendments but exclude discussions with the other side. Proposal C might cover those discussions while excluding an unexpected dispute. Once those gaps are visible, the client can compare the first-stage proposals and possible later work separately. This avoids treating the broadest package as automatically best value or the smallest first payment as the lowest total cost.

Ask how changed documents affect the legal quote

In this example, the other party supplies a replacement document. Ask each office whether that would alter its proposed work and how a revised estimate would be communicated. Choose a change that plausibly relates to your enquiry; an elaborate set of imagined problems can consume time without improving the decision. The purpose is to understand the office's change process, not to obtain a guaranteed price for every possible future event.

Record why you selected the proposal

A useful final note might say: ‘I selected this stage because it includes the written issues list I need, identifies the document being reviewed and explains how later drafting would be quoted.’ That is a stronger decision record than ‘the fee looked reasonable’. Before engaging, check that the written agreement matches the scope you compared. If the work or instructions change, revisit the comparison rather than relying on an earlier conversation.