Stop Discounting Your Fees
Discounting doesn't win the work. It tells the client your fees were never serious in the first place.
New consultants discount fees almost reflexively. The enquiry comes in, the client pushes back on the price, and the lawyer immediately offers to knock 15% off. The client signs. Everyone's happy. Except the lawyer is now doing the work for less than they wanted, the client now thinks the original price was made up, and the precedent is set for every future negotiation.
What the discount actually communicates
Three things, all bad. First: that your fees were aspirational rather than considered. Second: that you can be moved on price, which means the client should always try. Third: that you need this instruction more than the client needs you. None of these are positions you want to broadcast.
What to do instead
If the client pushes back, hold the price and adjust the scope. Offer to do less for less. Take out the optional review, the precedent drafting, the quarterly check-in, the second negotiation round. Now you're negotiating value, not your worth. The client gets a cheaper engagement; you get an engagement that actually pays for itself; and your hourly rate stays where it belongs.
The exception
There is one legitimate reason to discount: a long-term, high-value client whose ongoing relationship is worth a one-off concession on a particular matter. That's a strategic choice, not a panicked one, and you should communicate it explicitly: “I'm making a one-off exception here because of our wider relationship, and the standard fee will apply on future matters.” Said like that, it's a gift. Said as a flinch, it's a sign.
The uncomfortable truth
The lawyers who are most consistently underpaid are not the cheapest lawyers. They are the lawyers who flinch first. Stop flinching. Quote your fees calmly, hold them when challenged, and be willing to walk away from the work that won't pay properly. The clients who instruct you at full price are almost always the clients you want anyway.