Home > How the Model Works > Independent Tendering
Independent Tendering
Published: 1 December 2025 | Reviewed: 3 December 2025
Most Australians receive only one full proposal from a courtroom lawyer,
because proper advice takes real time, and
no one wants to pay multiple lawyers for the same work.
This leaves clients comparing one proposal against nothing,
at the very moment when the first major decisions will shape the
cost and direction of their dispute.
What Independent Tendering Solves
Independent Tendering gives you multiple full proposals for the price of one.
Clean Law prepares a single client-side case study, and the courtroom firms on your shortlist respond to the same information, without panels, commissions, or influence.
This gives clients a safe, structured way to compare strategy, timing, and cost on equal footing.
Clean Law remains fully capable of courtroom advocacy, but deliberately refrains from contested hearings. This keeps independence intact and removes blended incentives, so we can help you compare firms safely, side-by-side.
What Clean Law Does - and Does Not
Independent Tendering works because Clean Law’s role is strictly limited and structurally separated from courtroom work.
What we do
prepare the client-side case analysis
send it to the firms on your shortlist
collect each firm’s proposal
answer questions about staging, timing, and cost structure
provide independent cost-safety advice to the client only
What we do not do
select firms
recommend one firm over another
prepare briefs
instruct counsel
act as an instructing solicitor in contested hearings
influence courtroom strategy
form alliances or partnerships with courtroom firms
Why these boundaries matter
These boundaries keep independence intact, remove any structural pressure on client choice, and ensure all courtroom firms respond on their own professional judgment.
How Independent Tendering Works (3 Steps)
Step 1 — You choose the shortlist
Clients select the courtroom firms they wish to hear from.
If support is needed, names are drawn only from neutral, public-interest sources such as:
Law Society of NSW Solicitor Referral Service
Community Legal Centres NSW
Multicultural NSW legal programs
Legal Aid NSW (where applicable)
Clean Law does not maintain panels and does not recommend firms.
Step 2 — Clean Law prepares a case analysis (not a brief)
The case analysis summarises the situation, risks, and timing considerations.
It is not a brief, does not instruct counsel, and keeps all courtroom work independent.
Its only purpose is to ensure each firm responds to the same information so proposals remain comparable.
Step 3 — Courtroom firms provide their own proposals
Each firm prepares:
its litigation strategy
its staging and timing outline
its proposed costs
its own brief to counsel
Clean Law does not influence these proposals or their professional judgment.
Clients receive clear, side-by-side proposals formed independently.
When Independent Tendering Helps Most
Clients typically find this most valuable when they:
want clarity on strategy and costs before committing
wish to avoid being overpromised or underquoted
are unsure where cost traps may arise in litigation
prefer transparency before any trial preparation begins
Independent Tendering gives clarity early, often before the first procedural step is taken.
Your Safeguards at a Glance
Structural safeguards include:
clear separation of roles between settlement and trial
no financial influence of any kind
courtroom lawyers prepare their own strategies and proposals
consistent comparison across firms
transparent, plain-language communication at every step
In this structure, independence becomes structural, not optional.
By Nicky Wang
Principal Solicitor
Legal Liaison Ltd (trading as Clean Law)
Prepared in accordance with public-interest governance,
annual Law Society trust-account audits, and ACNC-reported standards.
Disclaimer: This page provides general information only and is not legal advice. It may not reflect the most current legal developments and does not consider your individual circumstances. You should obtain tailored legal advice before acting on this information.
