Fees every five minutes in Law Society guide to unbundling

Charging clients for every five or six minutes of advice and sending paralegals to court to act as McKenzie friends feature in Law Society guidance on unbundling of family services clarifying the extent of the role of solicitors.

"The essence of unbundling in its purest form is that the case remains client led so the solicitor does not accept service of documents, does not send out correspondence in the firm's name or otherwise communicate with third parties, does not incur additional case-related costs and does not go on the court record." Law Society president Lucy Scott-Moncrieff (pictured) said.

Under the 'pay as you go' system suggested by the practice notes, fees could be charged "on the basis of five or six minute units".

"Each advice session is treated as a discrete event and payment is made at the end of each one. This is a straightforward system with no need to have payments on account or hold clients' money," the guidance says.

A similar service could be provided by fixed fees, but the notes advised that "for quick pieces of advice, charging by short units of time might be considered to be more flexible".

The advice goes on: "You may also consider charging on a traditional hourly rates basis, but this could increase the risk of the retainer being more broadly interpreted if you are undertaking a piece of work that goes beyond an immediate single task."

As an alternative to traditional advocacy, Chancery Lane said family law departments could offer clients a "professional McKenzie friend service", to provide advice and support to litigants in person during a hearing.

The practice note suggests that the service could be offered "by a suitably trained paralegal and provided to clients for a modest fee compared to a full advocacy service".

It adds: "Whether you opt for fixed fees or hourly rates for traditional advocacy or for a McKenzie friend, advocacy fees should be simple, transparent and affordable to clients of modest means.

"As with any unbundled service, you must clearly define the limits of the service so as to minimise the risk that a traditional full retainer is created."

Among the services covered by unbundling suggested by the guidance are:

- assisting the client to progress the matter themselves,

- assisting with form filling and drafting letters and documents including basic pleadings

- checking documents and forms completed by the client.

Among the services which should not be offered by solicitors are:

- conduct of litigation,

- holding clients' documents,

- sending letters in the firm's name or other contact with third parties or instructing experts.