Renegotiating fees 'After the Fact'

You have just placed a great candidate in a role with a new client who came to you as they were struggling to fill a vacancy which required a particular skill set. Having ‘pulled one of out of the bag’ often at the last moment and after much hard work – the client now calls and asks you to ‘do a deal on the fee’. You know you have done your job well – what do you do?

Well here there are two answers – the legally accurate one, and the one you might describe as the pragmatic commercial solution. However, that’s not to say that the two cannot be the same – it all depends on how you set up the assignment in the first place and how robust your terms are, together with some business ‘nouce’ and little charm or grit!

First of all you want to make sure you are on strong contractual footing – were your terms sent at the start of the assignment? Are they clear about your fee in the particular circumstances? Were there any ‘post - terms’ amendments? If you are not on strong contractual ground then you need to review your internal procedures – see future blogs on that point! If your terms are clear and incorporated – then be firm but fair with your client and evidence what you are saying by reference to your earlier correspondence and stick to your line. Its always best to retrieve the client relationship when these sorts of disagreements arise – and of course you may be looking at the longer term prospects – not just the immediate fee. But don’t be walked over, and don’t feel you should make a gesture without asserting your entitlement to be properly paid for your work. It is possible to be firm and fair, and still keep the client, going forward.

All disputes need to try to be resolved without engaging solicitors and courts – especially when the amounts are relatively modest. If however your attempts to resolve have hit the proverbial brick wall, then make sure you get some pragmatic advice about your position – how strong your terms are and whether you have enough ammunition to fight about them – whilst keeping the costs and therefore a commercial resolution firmly at the front of both your mind and that of your lawyer!

For more information on this subject, please contact dispute resolution specialist Heather Stanford or join the debate on in our eForum on Linkedin