LPO Pricing Models Explained
Per-deliverable, per-page, hourly and retainer pricing each shift risk somewhere. Knowing where is how you avoid the invoice you did not expect.
By OASIS Research Writing
- lpo pricing
- legal outsourcing cost
- legal process outsourcing rates
- outsourced paralegal cost
- legal support pricing
Every legal outsourcing pricing model is a way of allocating one risk: nobody knows exactly how long the file will take until someone has read it. The models differ in who carries that uncertainty.
Per deliverable
A fixed price for a defined artefact — one chronology, one memorandum, one demand package. The provider carries the overrun risk, so the scope definition has to be precise. Best where the deliverable is standard and repeated.
Per page or per unit
Common for record review, chronologies and transcripts. Transparent and easy to forecast, but it rewards volume rather than judgement, so it works best with a quality protocol and sampling attached.
Hourly
Appropriate for open-ended research and drafting where scope genuinely cannot be fixed in advance. The firm carries the uncertainty, so ask for a cap and interim reporting rather than a single invoice at the end.
Monthly retainer or dedicated capacity
A committed block of capacity at a predictable cost. It suits a steady pipeline and removes per-matter negotiation, but it is wasted where volume is genuinely sporadic.
What to pin down whatever the model
What counts as one unit. Whether revisions are included and how many. What happens when the record turns out to be twice the estimated volume. Whether rush handling carries a premium and what qualifies as rush. Whether the quoted rate covers internal review or bills it separately.
How we quote
Research and drafting work is quoted per matter, because record volume, practice area and turnaround move the number more than anything else. Scope, price and schedule go in a written proposal within three working days of the scope note, and one revision round is included. The sequence is documented under how we work; to get a quote, start on contact.