How it works, in detail
Start from a template for common matters and edit anything. Firms reply in fixed fields, so every quote lines up with every other.
Example request
Template: Customer terms review · editedScope firms must price
Criteria every firm must answer on · you set these, and they become the comparison table
Your question for every firm
Which clauses are furthest from market, and what would you change first?
Quotes by Fri 2 Oct · invited and matched firms (Extended) · sealed round · anonymous
Papers stay off the platform. The brief stays at scope level.
What every firm returns
Every quote shows its assumptions, exclusions, team and timing in the same place, so the questions worth asking stand out. Speak to the firms you are weighing up before you instruct one.
See the verified firms on Counsel Bids, or invite a firm you have found yourself: it is checked before it sees your brief. Independent directories are a good place to start.
You choose, request by request, how firms quote. Both start the same way: every firm sends one full quote in the same format, and no firm ever sees another firm's price or name. The difference is what happens next.
In either kind of round you compare on value and are never obliged to choose the lowest fee. Read the rules of a live round.
Each firm quotes once, by your closing time. You open every quote together when the round closes. The usual choice.
Use it for
Any work. It is the only choice for disputes, tailored advice, and work priced by hourly rates or an estimate.
Firms see
Nothing of each other, before or after the close. Each firm is told win or lose.
Firms first quote in full, sealed, by a qualifying deadline. Then, in a short window you schedule (30 minutes as standard), each firm may lower its fixed fee and sees only its own rank. You compare the final quotes when the window closes.
Use it for
Well-defined, repeatable work from a template on a fixed fee, such as an NDA, standard terms or a trade mark filing, sent to the firms you invite, or those plus firms we match to your request (never every firm on the platform). It runs only if at least 3 firms qualify; otherwise it becomes a sealed round.
Firms see
Their own fee, how many changes they have made and their own rank, such as 2nd of 4. Never another firm's fee, name or the gap to the leader. Scope and team are locked, so a lower fee cannot mean less work.
Each organisation has its own private workspace, with logins only for the people in your team. You choose which firms see your request; nobody but your team ever sees the quotes.
Nothing on Counsel Bids is public. Any market benchmarks we publish are aggregated and anonymised, and never identify a buyer, a firm or a matter.
| Your team | Each firm | Other firms | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anonymised summary of your request | Yes | If you chose it | Only if Open |
| Your company's name | Yes | Only if you did not choose anonymous | No |
| Party names, for conflict checks | Yes | After registering interest | No |
| Full brief | Yes | After a clear conflict check | No |
| Quotes | All of them | Its own only | No |
| Fees during a live window | Lowest fee, number of changes and number of firms, no names | Its own fee and rank only | No |
| Who won the work | Yes | Told win or lose | No |
We are working with a small group of in-house teams and firms to shape Counsel Bids before launch. Business users only.