When talking about her own enterprise, Kristin Mendoza likes to quote an adage that says overnight success takes 10 years to develop. Proving that true, Mendoza co-wrote an article in 2010 arguing for a change in the paradigm of law firms billing by the hour. But a decade passed before she launched Abridge Law, a firm that offers its clients a flat fee for services, rather than charging clients for each minute spent on their behalf.
It took those intervening years for Mendoza to figure out the right model. She knew she would need a lean firm with efficient processes. In a strange turn of fortune, she was aided by the pandemic, which made people comfortable with video conferencing and remote services. “The pieces of the puzzle for trying this new business model came together in 2020,” she says.
Since launching Abridge Law in Nashua, Mendoza has built a client base of mostly startups to mid-sized businesses—and she has added an average of two to three new clients each week.
Abridge publishes a fee schedule on its website, including fees if follow-up services are needed. Mendoza says her clients appreciate being able to budget for their legal services, and many have shared that they’ve delayed asking for legal advice in the past out of fear of an unknown cost.
Abridge benefits from the model too, Mendoza says, because of the foundation of trust that develops with clients. “As an advisor, you need a relationship of trust to be effective.” Also, she says that she rarely has to chase unpaid bills because clients are usually ready to pay by the time they book an appointment.
“It’s a lot more fun for us when we are working with happy clients who feel appreciated and valued, and who appreciate and value us,” Mendoza says.
The challenges facing Mendoza are how to adapt her novel model as her business grows, and hiring and training the right kind of attorneys for her firm.
“In addition to that, we are regularly developing new ideas and initiatives to take our concept of a modern 21st Century law firm even further,” Mendoza says. “I have no doubt that when our 10th anniversary rolls around, we’ll be one of those overnight successes.”
Editor’s Note: Granite Media Group, the parent company of Business NH Magazine, is a client of Abridge Law.