Before you engage a lawyer: scope, costs and responsibilities

01 / Practical step

Put the proposed first task into one sentence

Write down what you believe the practice will do first. For example: review the supplied draft contract and explain the main issues at a meeting. Compare that sentence with the proposed scope. Does the scope include a written summary, changes to the document, discussions with the other party, or only the initial review? Ask the office to resolve any difference before assuming a later task is included. A shared understanding of the first task gives you something concrete against which to assess the proposal.

• The document, transaction or issue being considered.
• The output you expect to receive.
• The stage at which this engagement ends.

02 / Practical step

Read exclusions as a map of future decisions

An exclusion tells you where the current proposal stops. It may concern negotiation, tax advice, a hearing, additional documents or another stage. Ask what would happen if that excluded work becomes necessary: who would explain the options, whether a separate professional is needed and when you would receive a new proposal. A narrower scope can be appropriate when you only need a specific answer. The important point is that you can recognise when the work has moved beyond it.

03 / Practical step

Name the people and their responsibilities

Ask who will be your main contact, who supervises the work and who can approve changes on your behalf. If several people in your family or business are involved, have the practice explain whom it represents and whose instructions it accepts. Do not assume that paying an invoice makes someone the client or that copying a person into emails gives them decision-making authority. Record the agreed communication route, including how an urgent development should be raised.

04 / Practical step

Connect the fee model to the work

Read cost information beside the scope rather than as a separate price list. Identify fixed amounts, hourly charges, estimates, external expenses and any conditions. The Victorian regulator explains the importance of written cost information and keeping clients informed about changes; requirements elsewhere need checking with the relevant authority. Ask the office to identify the arrangements applicable to your matter. Use our fee comparison worksheet to record unanswered cost questions without turning unknown amounts into zeros.

05 / Practical step

Try a change-of-scope example

Illustrative example: an office offers to review one draft agreement. After the meeting, the other party sends a substantially revised draft and asks for a call. Before forwarding instructions to negotiate, ask whether review of the new draft and the call fall inside the existing scope. If they do not, request an explanation of the additional task and cost basis. The useful output is a clear decision about the next stage, not an assumption that all work on the same transaction is covered.

06 / Practical step

Confirm acceptance and the immediate next action

After the terms are explained, confirm whether the practice has accepted the work, what information or payment it still requires and when the next step should happen. If a document contains a date, show it to the practice and ask who is responsible for checking and acting on it. Do not assume that an enquiry, calendar booking or unsigned proposal means someone is already managing the matter. Keep the accepted scope and subsequent changes with your own records.

• What has the office accepted?
• What is still needed before work starts?
• Who is checking any notified date?
• What decision will require further instructions?