Setting Rates & Equity Preferences
How to set rate & equity expectations with clients through your profile
What's the deal with the HeyCounsel Platform Fee?
HeyCounsel clients (not lawyers) are charged a Platform Fee for access to our services. This is presented as a combined rate for work performed through engagements on the platform whenever the lawyer invoices the client through the platform.
The combined rate is displayed on all invoices and on the Engagement Details page.
To keep it simple: Combined Rate = Your legal fees + HeyCounsel Platform Fee
The HeyCounsel Platform Fee is the greater of 15% of the amount billed by the attorney or $85 per month.
Setting your rate is NOT permanent or binding!
It's important to note that by selecting a rate window and equity preference on your profile, you are NOT setting anything in stone. Later on, when you match with a client, you may propose different details based on your conversations and negotiations. Information collected during the Application Stage is simply information used on your profile to set expectations with prospective clients. Final engagement details are determined later during the Proposal Stage (see Making a Proposal).
Setting your rate window
If you're interested in charging a fee for your services (not everyone is!) simply indicate that you are interested and then select an ESTIMATED hourly rate. As indicated by the all caps in the prior sentence, you are not committing to any hourly rate and you are not even bound to charging an hourly rate at all. This ESTIMATE is simply meant to enable startups to search lawyers based on estimated out-of-pocket costs.
What if you plan to charge a flat monthly fee?
That's fine! Try to calculate what your monthly fee might equate to given your maximum availability. For example, if you are available for 10 hours per month and your monthly fee is $3,500, you should put your range as $301-$400.
Once you get to the Proposal Stage with any particular potential client, you will be able to propose a monthly fee.
Equity Preference
You may select 1 of 3 options when choosing your "equity preference":
Required: this means you only work with clients offering equity
Flexible: this means you could go either way, and it's not as important as other factors, especially during the beginning stages of your engagement
No equity required: this is pretty self explanatory!
What if you plan to equity only?
If you only plan to charge equity, you can select "No (or not yet)". Again, you are not bound by this, this is simply information used on your profile to set expectations. Engagement details are determined later during the Proposal Stage.
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