{"id":123037,"date":"2025-06-15T02:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-15T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/06\/15\/turning-rate-increase-discussions-into-opportunities\/"},"modified":"2025-06-15T02:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-06-15T10:00:00","slug":"turning-rate-increase-discussions-into-opportunities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/06\/15\/turning-rate-increase-discussions-into-opportunities\/","title":{"rendered":"Turning Rate Increase Discussions Into Opportunities"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Sally Schmidt | Tips for managing pricing conversations to deepen your relationships.<br \/>\nThe post Turning Rate Increase Discussions Into Opportunities appeared first on Articles, Tips and Tech for Law Firms and Lawyers.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Clients appreciate when their lawyers take a businesslike approach to rate increase discussions.<\/em><\/strong> <\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group cust-audio-set\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"exemag-video-wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"180\" frameborder=\"no\" src=\"blank\" data-rocket-lazyload=\"fitvidscompatible\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/share.transistor.fm\/e\/bc8269da\">[embedded content]<\/iframe><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"180\" frameborder=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/share.transistor.fm\/e\/bc8269da\">[embedded content]<\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n<div class=\"wp-block-yoast-seo-table-of-contents yoast-table-of-contents\">\n<h3>Table of contents<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.attorneyatwork.com\/lawyer-rate-increase\/#h-understand-the-client-s-budgeting-process\" data-level=\"2\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Understand the Client\u2019s Budgeting Process<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.attorneyatwork.com\/lawyer-rate-increase\/#h-communicating-about-the-rate-increase\" data-level=\"2\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Communicating About the Rate Increase<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.attorneyatwork.com\/lawyer-rate-increase\/#h-make-the-case-for-increasing-your-fees\" data-level=\"2\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Make the Case for Increasing Your Fees<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.attorneyatwork.com\/lawyer-rate-increase\/#h-related-tips-for-increasing-your-legal-fees\" data-level=\"2\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Related Tips for Increasing Your Legal Fees<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.attorneyatwork.com\/lawyer-rate-increase\/#h-subscribe-to-attorney-at-work\" data-level=\"2\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Subscribe to Attorney at Work<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>When responding to pushback on their fees, lawyers often fail to make their case compelling. As a result, they fold too quickly.<\/p>\n<p>Not every client is going to embrace a rate increase enthusiastically, of course, but pricing conversations\u2014and they should be conversations\u2014will go much better if you use the opportunity to explain the value of the work you do and the reasons for the increase. <\/p>\n<p>Here are some tips for managing the discussion.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-understand-the-client-s-budgeting-process\">Understand the Client\u2019s Budgeting Process<\/h2>\n<p>To increase your odds of success, you need to understand the client\u2019s situation. For example:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Do you know who approves increases, and when that happens? Do you know the client\u2019s fiscal year? If you don\u2019t time your request to fall before the new budgeting cycle, it will make it difficult to get approval.<\/li>\n<li>Do you know what\u2019s happening with the client\u2019s business? If the client is struggling, it will be difficult to get a rate increase.<\/li>\n<li>What would work best with the client\u2019s budgeting process? For example, an incremental increase each year may be better received than a large increase every few years.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-communicating-about-the-rate-increase\">Communicating About the Rate Increase<\/h2>\n<p>It is best to discuss rate increases one-on-one as opposed to sending a pro forma letter or email (or worse yet, an invoice with an increase that hasn\u2019t been discussed). This will help clients feel they are part of the process. For example:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Have the conversation about raising rates before the rates are to go into effect; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.attorneyatwork.com\/dont-be-afraid-to-raise-your-legal-fees\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">don\u2019t let the client be caught off guard when a bill arrives<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.attorneyatwork.com\/legal-pricing-good-lawyers-talk-money-with-clients\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Check in with your clients regularly<\/a>; if you haven\u2019t contacted your client in months, your first conversation shouldn\u2019t be about raising rates.<\/li>\n<li>If you are feeling nervous about the discussion, put some thoughts in writing and rehearse what you\u2019ll say.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-make-the-case-for-increasing-your-fees\">Make the Case for Increasing Your Fees<\/h2>\n<p>This is your chance to remind clients about the work you\u2019ve done in the past and the value you have provided. For example:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Be prepared to discuss successful results, goals you helped the client reach or savings you achieved through negotiations.<\/li>\n<li>Explain your rationale for a rate increase. Is it a standard increase due to the cost of doing business? When was the last rate increase discussed? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clio.com\/resources\/legal-trends\/compare-lawyer-rates\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Is it fair in relation to the market?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Clients appreciate when their lawyers take a businesslike approach to the discussion of fees. Clients want and expect conversations about costs so they can budget and manage the expectations of their internal stakeholders. Your preparation and approach will have a direct impact on whether you\u2019re successful in raising your fees.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-related-tips-for-increasing-your-legal-fees\">Related Tips for Increasing Your Legal Fees<\/h2>\n<p>\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.attorneyatwork.com\/legal-pricing-good-lawyers-talk-money-with-clients\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Good Lawyers Talk Money With Their Clients\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.attorneyatwork.com\/dont-be-afraid-to-raise-your-legal-fees\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Don\u2019t Be Afraid to Raise Your Legal Fees<\/a>\u201c<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-subscribe-to-attorney-at-work\">Subscribe to Attorney at Work<\/h2>\n<p>Get really good ideas every day for your law practice: <a title=\"Subscribe to Attorney at Work\" href=\"https:\/\/www.attorneyatwork.com\/subscribe\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Subscribe to the Daily Dispatch<\/a> (it\u2019s free) or Weekly Wrap. Follow us on Twitter @attnyatwork.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sally Schmidt | Tips for managing pricing conversations to deepen your relationships. The post Turning Rate Increase Discussions Into Opportunities appeared first on Articles, Tips and Tech for Law Firms and Lawyers. Clients appreciate when their lawyers take a businesslike approach to rate increase discussions. [embedded content][embedded content] Table of contents Understand the Client\u2019s Budgeting [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-123037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-legal_matters"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123037","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123037"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123037\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123037"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123037"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123037"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}