“It is such an important point and one that resonates strongly across the legal profession.

At EMW Law LLP | B Corp, we recognise that strong client relationships are built on clear, confident and realistic communication, alongside excellent legal advice, which is a given.

Managing client expectations well is a commercial skill as much as a technical legal one.

That’s why we are committed to equipping our people with the tools, confidence and mindset to have open, value‑based conversations with clients, enabling them to recognise and articulate their true worth without falling into the trap of over‑promising.

This capability will only become more critical as AI becomes increasingly embedded in the legal profession. (I totally agree).

Being able to explain not just the use of AI, but the benefits and value it delivers to clients, will be a defining skill for fee‑earners going forward.

It has been fantastic to build a working relationship with Vanessa to support this approach, helping our teams strengthen client interactions in a way that is both ethical and commercially sustainable.

If anyone would like a virtual coffee to discuss how Vanessa has supported our business, please do feel free to message me.”

Thank you Karen for taking the time to write this, especially when I know how busy you always are.

Vanessa.

I was really sorry to read that Mezzle had recently gone into administration. While I hadn’t done any work with the firm, I always thought Mel Kang came across as a really nice guy with good intentions.

However, intention is not enough, is it?

Even if I had worked with the firm, as I always get money up front, I wouldn’t have lost out.

And I say another one bites the dust because I have also heard of a traditional law firm which went into administration over an unpaid tax bill.

How On Earth Does That Even Happen?
Well, I suspect there are several reasons why a firm can generate fees and still find itself in trouble, and an unpaid tax bill is a pretty good place to start.

The Law Society Gazette reported that HMRC had brought a winding-up petition against Mezzle over an unpaid tax bill.

So, it’s not necessarily about the business model, is it?

You might generate plenty of fees, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve got the money in the bank to pay your bills.

There’s clearly a difference between work you’ve done, invoices you’ve raised and money you’ve actually received. And if you haven’t put enough aside for your tax bill, eventually it’s going to catch up with you.

My Simple Rule for Staying Ahead
By the way, I have a very simple system. When an invoice is paid, I transfer the VAT and at least 20% of the sum to a separate bank account, so I always have money to pay my VAT and tax bills. It’s not rocket science, is it?

Is that something your firm does?

What Has This Got to Do with Maximising Fees?
Quite a lot, actually.

It’s not just about how much work you bring in, is it? It’s about what you charge, getting paid and whether you’re actually profitable. It’s not about ripping clients off.

I see too many lawyers who are so concerned about keeping clients happy that they end up doing work for less than they should be charging. They take on extra work without discussing the additional cost, or they agree a fee without properly considering how much time and expertise the matter is likely to require.

And that’s where problems start. You can be busy all day, working long hours but if you’re consistently undercharging, you’re making life difficult for the firm and for yourself.

Busy Doesn’t Always Mean Profitable
Of course, you also need to make sure you’re getting paid. There’s little benefit in doing the work and raising the invoice if the money doesn’t come in. That’s why I favour getting money upfront wherever possible. It gives you greater certainty and avoids having to spend time chasing clients for money you’ve already earned.

But there’s another aspect to this which I think is worth considering.

Are Your Fees Still Fit for Purpose?
How often do you actually look at the fees you’re charging and ask yourself whether they’re right?

I’m not talking about putting your prices up for the sake of it. I’m talking about looking at the work you’re doing for a client and making sure the fee reflects what’s involved.

Take a fixed-fee matter. You agree the fee based on what you know at the outset, but as the work progresses, things may change.

The client has another question, produces another document or asks you to deal with something that wasn’t part of the original instruction. Before you know it, you’ve spent considerably more time on the matter than you anticipated.

The Conversation Too Many Lawyers Avoid
Do you charge for that additional work, or do you just get on with it because you don’t want to have what you perceive as an awkward conversation with the client?

I suspect, nay I know, that plenty of lawyers choose the latter.

The trouble is that clients aren’t likely to tell you that you’re doing more work than you originally agreed to do. From their point of view, they’re paying you to deal with their problem. It’s up to you to explain what’s included in your fee and to raise the issue if the work goes beyond that.

And if you find yourself regularly spending more time on matters than you expected, it’s worth asking why. Perhaps the original fee was too low, or the scope wasn’t clear enough. Or maybe you’re simply giving away work that you should be charging for.

Looking After Clients Isn’t the Same as Subsidising Them
None of this is about being unreasonable with clients. Most clients want to know where they stand, and there’s nothing wrong with explaining that extra work will incur an additional fee. What matters is having that conversation before the work is done, rather than presenting the client with an unexpected bill afterwards.

There’s a difference between looking after your clients and subsidising their legal work.

The Cost of Small Decisions
I also think lawyers sometimes underestimate the effect that small decisions can have on their overall earnings. A bit of time written off here, an additional task thrown in there, a fee agreed because it feels easier than negotiating. Each decision might seem insignificant, but over the course of a year, it can add up to a considerable amount of money.

The Bigger Lesson from Mezzle
And that brings me back to Mezzle.

We don’t know the full circumstances behind the firm’s administration, and it would be wrong to assume that undercharging or poor financial management was responsible. The reported unpaid tax bill doesn’t, on its own, tell us why the firm ended up in that position.

However, it does raise an important question for every law firm: do you know the true financial position of your business? Generating fees is important, but so is knowing what you’ve actually collected, what you owe and whether the work you’re doing is making you money.

You can have a full caseload and a healthy-looking turnover and still run into difficulties if the cash isn’t there when the bills fall due. Equally, you can work incredibly hard and still fail to make a decent profit if your fees don’t reflect the time and expertise involved.

I focus on helping law firms maximise their fees ethically. Not by charging clients ridiculous amounts, but by making sure lawyers recognise the value of their work and charge accordingly.

Mezzle’s situation is a reminder that you shouldn’t take the financial health of your law firm for granted. We may not know what went wrong, but you can take a closer look at your own business and make sure it’s not simply generating fees at the expense of profitability.

Don’t Wait Until It’s Too Late
Because being busy is one thing. Making sure your law firm is financially sound is quite another.

Want to ensure that your firm doesn’t wind up like this by ensuring you’re not throwing money away unnecessarily? Just get in touch.

And if you’re not quite ready to do that, at the very least, grab a copy of my book and start reading:

www.vanessaugatti.com/book

Vanessa.

For the past 13 years, I’ve worked with forward-thinking law firms, lawyers and other professional services to address a problem that costs firms huge amounts of money: highly capable people who underestimate their worth, discount their fees, over-service clients or avoid what they perceive as difficult conversations about fees.

I’m not a lawyer, and that outside perspective is one of my strengths. It allows me to challenge established habits and focus on the behaviours that cause even highly capable lawyers to undervalue their expertise, despite knowing intellectually what their work is worth.

At the heart of it all is the psychology of charging, mindset, confidence and self-worth. Because you can be a brilliant lawyer, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you feel confident charging what you’re worth.

And just so you know, 13 years ago I was utterly clueless at charging! That was what led me to embark on a journey to solve the problem for myself and, ultimately, help others do the same.

I’ve recently brought everything I’ve learnt into my new book:
How to Get Paid Your True Worth™ Ethically, Without Selling Your Soul
While Keeping Your Clients Happy!

It’s written for professionals who want to charge appropriately and communicate their fees confidently, without becoming aggressive, salesy or damaging valuable client relationships.

I’d love to hear from other members of the group:

Which creates the greatest difficulty in practice?
1. Setting the right fee
2. Communicating it confidently
3. Managing scope creep effectively

I look forward to hearing your thoughts and experiences.

You can find out more about my book here:
https://www.vanessaugatti.com/book

Vanessa.

I always seem to start by talking about the weather, and it’s hardly surprising as it has certainly been keeping us on our toes!

The photo of me was taken on Bournemouth beach on Sunday 4 October. And yes, it really was warm, hence me wearing my favourite summer dress.

Since then, the weather has flip-flopped (I think I’ve just made that word up!) between warm and cold, and yesterday I was back in a summer dress again.I’m dreading the moment when the cold finally sets in, but let’s not dwell on that just yet. Instead, let’s get moving with this month’s newsletter!

Am I the missing link when it comes to getting paid your true worth? Hell yeah!

Recently, I was delivering a presentation to a local law firm prospect about what I do and why it’s different from those delivering pricing training, so I thought it would make an excellent newsletter too.

Who am I?

I am Vanessa Ugatti, the True Worth Expert, and I help law firms and other professional services get paid their true worth.

I certainly didn’t wake up one morning and think, “I know, I’ll help professionals charge with more confidence”, so below is a summary of my journey.

13 years ago, I was already coaching professionals in confidence and a positive mindset, yet there was a niggle at the back of my mind that something was missing. I just didn’t know what it was.

So, I was on the computer (well, not literally) looking for inspiration. And I found it!

By some quirk of fate, I stumbled upon a marketing programme specifically for coaches and the words literally jumped out of the screen.

“You have to have a niche and build a tribe.”

I’d heard of niching, but I had no idea what mine was nor how to create it.

After lots of procrastination and fear, I signed up for the programme and in the very first workshop, the facilitator asked us to write down all our interests, so I scribbled away and can’t remember what they were except for one subject:

Charging what you’re worth.

She said that’s marketable, so I said, “Well, you’re the expert and I’ll go out networking and find out what’s going on.”

And who do you see a lot of at networking? Lawyers and accountants.

So, I asked them quite simply what their challenges around charging were and they told me.

Underestimating, discounting and over servicing.

It was my first bit of evidence.

Then I looked at clients I’d been coaching and discovered that I was already helping some of them with charging, which makes perfect sense to me now.

Fortunately, I then decided to shine the spotlight on numero uno and guess what I found?

I was utterly clueless when it came to charging.

In time, I discovered that this was a very common problem indeed.

Then something amazing happened when I was in bed.

No, it wasn’t that!

I was half awake and half asleep and a formula appeared in my mind. And here it is:

UV + CV + CD = CW

And I bet you’re dying to know what it stands for, aren’t you?

Well: it’s understand your value + communicate your value + confidence delivering fees = charging what you’re worth.

The weird thing was, though, that I knew exactly what it meant and I knew I was right even though I had no idea how.

That is the power of the subconscious mind. It knows more about you than you do.

It was my wake-up call. I understood that my subconscious mind realised what my niche was because it knew I had to solve the problem for myself.

Now I totally understand my value and am fearless at speaking with clients about costs, no matter who the client is. As such, I am well positioned to help others make the same shift.

With the help of the programme, I went on to write my Amazon Best Seller, How to Charge What You’re Worth and Get It, which seemed like a big deal at the time, but was only 5,000 words.

As time went on and I worked with more people, including law firms, I was horrified to find that it was not unusual for people to not get paid sometimes.

So, I changed the name of my book to How to Get Paid Your True Worth and developed my current True Worth™ Methodology, where each letter represents a key part of the sales process.

Fast forward to 2026 and I finally wrote what I call my proper book: How to Get Paid Your True Worth Ethically, Without Selling Your Soul, which is available here: https://www.vanessaugatti.com/book

https://www.vanessaugatti.com/book
How to Get Paid Your True Worth Ethically Without Selling Your Soul

This book brings together 13 years of experience, learning and working with people around the challenges of pricing, value and getting paid what you’re worth.

It brings together my unique 9 Principle True Worth™ Methodology, practical tools and real-life stories to help you:
• Charge with greater confidence
• Build a profitable and sustainable business
• Have better conversations with clients about money
• Reduce the stress and awkwardness around talking about costs

And it’s not just for business owners. If you work in a client-facing role, becoming more confident talking to clients about costs can make your working life considerably less stressful and have a positive impact on your career prospects too.

At the heart of the book is my Magic Triangle, a simple but powerful framework for balancing:
• Client Value
• Business Value
• Personal Wellbeing

Because making more money shouldn’t require you to sacrifice your sanity, your values or your soul.

And here’s where you can make me really happy:
Buy one copy for yourself and one for a friend or colleague who you know would benefit.

Then please:
1. Read it
Yes, sadly I haven’t yet found a way of transferring the contents by
osmosis.
2. If you love it, leave a review on Amazon
Reviews really do make a difference.
3. Let me know you’ve done it.
I’d genuinely love to hear what you think.
4. Ask me to do something for you in return.

Like and comment on a post, make an introduction, share something with your network whatever I can reasonably do.

Together, let’s help everyone who is excellent at what they do feel confident charging their true worth.

So, if you’ve been meaning to get a copy…

This is your sign.

Thank you.

Vanessa
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