fee-arrangement-structuring

What it does

Structures commercial fee arrangements between in-house legal teams and outside counsel. Encodes the methodology for selecting, documenting, stress-testing, and renegotiating AFA structures across the full arrangement lifecycle.

This skill does NOT:

• Build the phase-based matter budget or track WIP variance — use budget-and-fee-manager (LPM Core)
• Draft billing guidelines or rate card policy — use engagement-terms-billing-guidelines (OCM Skill 1)
• Run the RFP process or evaluate firm proposals — use rfp-pitch-management (OCM Skill 3)
• Manage scope change control from the law firm side — that is a firm-side LPM function; this skill handles scope disputes from the in-house client perspective

Cross-skill connection: fee-arrangement-structuring determines the commercial structure. budget-and-fee-manager models whether the number is viable and monitors actual vs agreed during execution.

How it works

Provides a structured workflow and templates for Mode 1: AFA Design and Mode 2: Scope-to-Fee Matching. It instructs immediate production of AFA Recommendation Memo and GC Sign-off Brief in Mode 1, and a Scope-Fee Assessment and Risk Register in Mode 2, with explicit inputs, outputs, and output formats. It includes detailed input fields, an AFA selection matrix, and danger/risk considerations, plus standardized output templates to generate client-facing documents (docx) and embedded AI pricing terms.

When to use it

Mode 1: AFA Design triggers when structuring a new arrangement or evaluating a fixed-fee approach for defined scope. Mode 2: Scope-to-Fee Matching triggers when assessing whether current or proposed scope aligns with a specific AFA structure.

What it can touch

Outputs are produced as .docx files unless requested otherwise. Include Client Name, Matter Name, and date in every document header.

Caveats

Licensing noted as NOASSERTION. Declared tools include claude-code. The skill emphasizes that outputs should not answer questions conversationally and must present formal memos and briefs as the output documents, with explicit assumptions and risk sections. It cautions against introducing scope or pricing analyses not present in the provided inputs.