The Outside General Counsel Subscription: Fixed Monthly Fees for Small Business Clients
How business law firms package fixed monthly legal support for small companies, price it, scope it and sell it.
Global Growth Playbooks · Part 11 · US · UK · Australia · Canada
The answer
Small business owners avoid calling their lawyer because every call might cost money. A fixed monthly subscription with a clear scope removes that hesitation, turns sporadic matters into recurring revenue and surfaces larger projects earlier. It works when the scope is written tightly and usage is tracked every month.
Why subscriptions suit small business clients
Hourly billing creates a perverse incentive for the client to stay away until a problem is expensive. A subscription changes the behaviour: the client calls early, the lawyer sees issues while they are cheap to fix, and the firm gets predictable revenue. Fixed fees are permitted in every major market as long as they are reasonable and the scope is explained to the client.
Example tiers
| Tier | Typical inclusions | Excluded (quoted separately) |
|---|---|---|
| Essentials | Unlimited short calls and emails, review of up to two standard contracts a month | Litigation, transactions, disputes |
| Growth | Essentials plus one new template a month and quarterly compliance check-in | Fundraising, M&A, litigation |
| Board | Growth plus attendance at a monthly or quarterly board meeting | Major transactions and disputes |
Launching it
- Pick ten existing business clients who call you at least quarterly.
- Price the tier from their actual usage over the past year, not from a guess.
- Write a one-page scope with inclusions, exclusions and response times.
- Offer it at your next review with each client.
- Track hours used against fee every month; adjust scope or price after three months.
Market notes
- US: Rule 1.5 requires fees to be reasonable and the scope and basis to be communicated, preferably in writing.
- UK: client care and costs information rules apply; state what is and is not included.
- Australia: costs disclosure obligations apply under the Uniform Law or state legislation.
- Canada: law society rules require fees to be fair and reasonable and disclosed in a timely fashion.
Guardrails
- Write the scope down and send it before the first month starts.
- Do not let unlimited calls become unlimited work; define what counts as a project.
- Review profitability quarterly.
What to measure
- Monthly recurring revenue from subscriptions.
- Hours used against fee for each client.
- Projects quoted from subscription clients.
- Subscription churn.
30-day checklist
- Pull a year of usage for ten business clients
- Draft three tiers
- Write the scope document
- Offer it to five clients
- Set up a monthly usage report
Sources
Want help putting this in place?
Book a 15-minute call with Sagar Pratap Singh, Founder and Host of WhoBringsTheBusiness, at sagar@whobringsthebusiness.com or pick a time online. Mention this playbook and I will come prepared with a starting point for your business. Implementation is delivered through Dizital Connect.
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Next in the series: Part 12: IP Firms: Getting Found by Founders Before They File
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