Let’s face it: costs for services continue to increase and legal services are no exception. But what options do associations have to save on legal fees without exposing themselves to liability for failing to get informed on legal issues? As it turns out, associations do have some options, which involve preplanning their legal communications and using attorneys wisely.
The five most impactful options are set forth below:
- Emails with Attorneys. Be careful with emails—they cost money. Emails are often treated like telephone calls with lots of back-and-forth discussions; however, every time an attorney responds to an email, chances are you are getting billed. Therefore, lots of back and forth emails end up costing associations more in legal fees than what they may have anticipated. If there are lots of follow-up questions, consider inviting the attorney to a meeting since we talk faster than we write, and you can likely get the issue resolved more cost-efficiently.
- Attorney Attendance at Meetings. Speaking of inviting the community’s attorney to a meeting, it is imperative that your meeting is well-organized so you are not paying the attorney to be in attendance longer than necessary. For example, don’t make the attorney sit through a homeowner forum if that’s not the purpose for the attorney being in attendance. Move the schedule around so the board can speak with the attorney first and then move on to other business. By the same token, don’t pay your attorney to sit through a presentation by the insurance broker before having the legal discussion. Save your money and have the attorney discussion first so you can let the attorney leave and stop the billable hour.
- Attorney Phone Calls. Before calling the attorney, have a written list of all questions that need to be asked. Be concise with your questions and remember every extra minute on the phone costs money. Although you may really like the attorney you are speaking with, that does not mean you should take time to discuss non-pertinent or personal issues that would extend the call and the legal fees.
- Cost-Estimates. Request cost-estimates or flat fee quotes from legal counsel for projects before authorizing the attorney to actually perform the legal work. This will afford the board an opportunity to ensure adequate funding for the project and further protect it from unfortunate surprises when it receives its legal bill.
- Designated Attorney Liaison. One of the biggest culprits when it comes to bleeding unnecessary legal fees, is multiple communications with HOA counsel on the same topic by various directors. When there is no designated individual to serve as attorney liaison, any director can reach out to the HOA attorney with questions and incur legal fees on behalf of the association. In fact, in the author’s experience it is not uncommon to receive two or three emails from various directors on the same topic, incurring legal fees that could have been avoided with a designated liaison. Therefore, having a designated director together with the managing agent can save associations quite a bit of money on legal fees.
Please contact an Altitude attorney at 303.432.9999 or at [email protected] if you have questions concerning this topic.