Engagement structures

The fee structure should follow the work

Two legal instructions may concern the same area of law and still demand entirely different levels of responsibility. MHSK & Partners therefore agrees the scope first and selects the fee structure that properly reflects the work, its duration, the forum involved and the result the client is asking the Firm to pursue.

Four structures

Each service is placed where it can be scoped responsibly

The examples below reflect the Firm's actual contentious, transactional, regulatory, policy and cross border services. The final structure is confirmed only after the record and objective have been reviewed.

Defined instruction

One Time Fixed Fee

Appropriate where the deliverable, responsibility and natural end point can be identified at the outset.

Services commonly placed here

Property title verification, encumbrance review, NOC checks and transaction due diligence
Legal opinions, merits assessments and review of a defined document set
Contracts, notices, powers of attorney, board resolutions and individual commercial instruments
Trademark applications, company filings, registrations and statutory applications
A single advertising campaign review, compliance gap assessment or document clearance
UK sponsorship documentation and Non Prohibited Bore arms licence applications

Continuing counsel

Monthly or Quarterly Retainer

Appropriate where the client requires continuing access, recurring review or an external legal function over an agreed period.

Services commonly placed here

Standing corporate counsel for contracts, NDAs, vendors and management advice
Corporate governance, SECP compliance, board support and statutory calendars
Regulatory, data privacy, insurance and commercial compliance oversight
Intellectual property and trademark portfolio management
Continuing marketing compliance, consent controls, affiliate governance and campaign supervision
Property watch, recurring verification and scheduled risk reporting

III

Specialist advisory mandate

Consultancy Based Charges

Appropriate where the value lies in specialist analysis, design, negotiation or implementation rather than a single filing or continuing general counsel role.

Services commonly placed here

Policy design, legislative architecture and regulatory impact assessment
Institutional governance, implementation frameworks, evaluation and reform
Corporate restructuring, market entry and expansion planning
Ecommerce, fintech, payment gateway and international regulatory readiness
Marketing compliance manuals, consent architecture, vendor controls and risk registers
Insurance placement, commercial negotiations and complex transactional advisory

Complex or evolving instruction

Tailor Made Billing Structure

Appropriate where the matter may move through several stages, forums or jurisdictions and cannot fairly be reduced to a standard fee before the record is tested.

Services commonly placed here

Civil, constitutional, company, property and white collar litigation
Tax references, customs proceedings, recovery actions and regulatory disputes
Domestic and international arbitration, mediation and structured settlement
Commercial recovery, professional negligence and enforcement proceedings
Investigations, urgent interim relief and matters with changing evidential demands
International disputes requiring coordination with locally admitted or specialist counsel

The written proposal

Clarity before responsibility is assumed

The Firm does not publish a general tariff because a responsible fee cannot be separated from the work it covers. Every proposal records the basis on which the instruction will be accepted.

Scope: The questions, stages, deliverables and express exclusions.
Counsel: The responsible professional, supporting team and any role for specialist or locally admitted counsel.
Jurisdiction: The forum, governing law and practical limits of the Firm's responsibility.
Disbursements: Court fees, government charges, experts, travel, translation and external counsel are stated separately where applicable.
Review: If the facts, forum or requested work changes materially, the scope is reconsidered before further responsibility is assumed.

Request an engagement proposal

Begin with the matter, not the price label

Provide the objective, relevant documents, jurisdiction and any immediate deadline. The Firm will identify which of the four structures properly fits the instruction.

Request an engagement proposal