One important aspect of cost containment is sensitivity to the cost of outside counsel.  As a client, you should know how the services you require will be priced.  When you have selected one or more potential preferred providers, the subject of how their services will be priced and billed should be discussed and agreed upon.  Most firms will be more than happy to discuss this with you, particularly when you come to an understanding of the relationship of the scope of services to be provided and the cost of those services.  Your interest in minimizing costs should be tempered with the realism that legal services, particularly those of experienced attorneys or agents with technical background and experience, will not be cheap.  But you should also look for predictability in the costs that you may incur.  In that respect, many firms will accept some limitations on their bills, including caps for specific services or even fixed fees when the service to be provided is relatively predictable.  See RatnerPrestia's billing arrangements.

 

Equally important to this cost control imperative is the self discipline that you must impose on yourself and your colleagues.  The communication channels between you and your legal representative should be limited to exclude extraneous or duplicative requests and to assure a clear understanding of the messages conveyed.  In the case of a new patent application, a complete invention disclosure, including all relevant process diagrams, drawings and data, goes a long way toward minimizing the time and effort required of the attorney or agent responsible for drafting the application, not to mention better ensuring a complete and adequate patent application.  Having multiple contacts often makes this difficult.  There should be periodic review meetings to avoid surprises and urgent requests that lead to inefficiencies.  You should expect to pay for this on-going relationship, again possibly at some fixed level, but it will save you money in the long run. 

 

Finally you must be willing to provide information, responses and instructions promptly when they are requested.  If your legal representative is not equally responsive and forthcoming, you should clearly convey your dissatisfaction.  If the problem is not corrected, then you probably will be better off with a new representative.