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We're looking into the contract review solutions available to medium/large businesses. There are several ways they can get their standard, everyday business contracts reviewed and approved for signing. Many have a lawyer or legal-team working in-house, but other use law firms, legal outsourcing (also known as legal process outsourcing - LPO), online legal service providers and other alternatives. We want to know the average price per contract, and review time, of these alternative solutions.
Hello! Thanks for your question about pricing and turnabout time in the legal industry. The most useful sources I found to answer your question are corporate websites and trusted media sites. The short version is that prices range based on location and complexity of the contract but usually fall within the $150-$250 price range. We struggled to find and pinpoint LPO service price ranges due to the companies' emphasis on individual job costing based on the clients needs and budget, but we were able to find a statistic that could be used to estimate cost. Below you will find a deep dive of my findings.
Methodology:
We combined the two catagories of Law Firms and One Man Shows into one category due to the crossover between the companies. The companies use similar business practices.
We also combined the categories of LPO's & Sweatshops since many LPO's have offices in countries like India where employees experience low wages, poor working conditions, and lengthy work days, which is how we defined a "sweatshop".
For internet companies, we found various websites that catered to smaller business and individual clients. However, we focused on only providing websites that were outfitted to suit the needs of at least medium sized businesses.
We searched extensively online for pricing and provided information that was available on the company's website or through alternative sources. For pricing information that could not be specifically located, we provided alternative averages when possible.
Law Firms & One Man Shows:
This legal firm that checks contracts and agreements. Their packages increase from "Basic", "Plus", to "Pro". A "Basic" package costs $129 and includes a 5 page maximum. A "Plus" package costs $199 and includes a 15 page maximum. A "Pro" package costs $279 and includes no page maximum. A "Basic" package includes a 3 day turnaround, while the "Plus" and "Pro" offer a 2 day turnaround with an additional 24 hour service.
This company connects contract attorneys with clients and offers services in reviewing, drafting, and negotiating contracts. The company specifies that the pricing is dependent on the job's details. However, the sample rates for commercial contracts cost from $150 to $250 while the highest given rate is $800/hr, which covered specialized privacy agreements. Turnaround time varies by attorney but reviews generally indicate a quick turnaround.
After submitting an two documents (Attorney Engagement Agreement and New Client Form), this is a law firm that allows the customer to prepay for set services. Their contract review service package includes up to 5 pages for $297 and the customer can add an additional page package for $147. The firm has a 1 Day turnaround upgrade for the price of $247. Otherwise, the turnaround varies based on what is agreed upon as reasonable in the documents.
Internet Companies:
Legal Zoom offers two subscription types the 12 month and the 6 month version. The 6 month plan is billed on a 6 month cycle for the price of $216. It offers a variety of legal services including contract reviews with a 10 page maximum. The 12 month plan is billed once per year for the price of $375. It includes all the services of the 6 month plan at a discounted rate with the additional service of an annual business evaluation. If the attorney agrees to take on more pages the added fees are as follows: 11-15 page documents cost $39, 16-25 page documents cost $99, and for 26+ page documents the attorney will contact you to negotiate a price. No specific turnaround time is guaranteed, but reviews generally indicate a quick turnaround.
Avvo provides online legal services at fixed fees. Their contract review package costs $199 which includes a 30 minute call with an attorney and the contact review. The contract doesn't have a specified length maximum but the site indicates that it must be "reasonably sized" or approximately 20 pages or less. The company's turnaround time is 1 business day.
LPO's & Sweatshops:
Legal Support World is a company that provides legal support services to larger companies and employs licensed Indian attorneys. The company offers flexible billing models that emphasizes affordability including full time equivalent (FTE), hourly, per page, per document and project based models. The company boasts that it can save the customer 40% to 60% by contracting LSW for their legal support services. Turnaround is 1 day.
Attorney teams in India with a U.S. licensed attorney as the project manager and supervisor that offer contract review services. The company prioritizes keeping costs for contract review services and other legal services to a minimum, and offers the customer the ability to track the performance of the customer's team members. No turnabout rate was specified.
Software Solutions
-Contract Pod
This software offers two contract generating subscriptions. Small or lean business subscription costs $119/user/month and offers 5 contract templates as well as basic analytical programs to assist in completing and reviewing the contract. The larger business subscription is $99/user/month and offers 10 contract templates as well as advanced analytical programs to assist in completing and reviewing the contract. It's user generated to turnabout is immediate.
This cloud-based software generates contracts via questionnaire inputs. It's user friendly with webinars and blog posts to assist in the process. The company offers a 28 day free trail period. The product costs $195/user/month but with more users the price drops to $160/user/month.
Conclusion paragraph:
To wrap it up, prices range based on location and complexity of the contract but usually fall within the $150-$250 price range. We couldn't pinpoint LPO service price ranges due to their emphasis on individual job costing based on the clients needs, but were able to find a statistic that can be used in the estimation of the cost. Thanks for using Wonder! Please let us know if we can help with anything else!