Having a contract reviewed: the process, costs and what the review must cover

How much does it cost to have a contract reviewed?

Since 2006, the Lawyers’ Fees Act (RVG) no longer provides for a scale of fees for out-of-court reviews and advice. Section 34 of the RVG refers to the fee agreement. Statutory upper limits apply only in dealings with consumers where no agreement has been reached: a maximum of 190 euros for an initial consultation and a maximum of 250 euros for advice, plus VAT in each case. In business dealings, remuneration is agreed freely, and two models have become established: the hourly rate, which is appropriate where the scope of the review is open-ended and the number of negotiation rounds is foreseeable, and the fixed price per contract or contract type, which is appropriate where the scope is defined, such as the review of an NDA, a supply contract or a tenancy agreement with a clear page count and objective.

A fair arrangement is one that is transparent from the outset. A robust cost agreement should include the scope of the review (risk report only, or also redlining and negotiation), the treatment of annexes and reference documents, the number of revision rounds included, and the arrangements in the event that the review leads to negotiations. Flat-rate percentages of the contract value are unusual for reviews and are also inappropriate, as the effort involved depends on complexity and the need for negotiation, not on volume. For defined reviews, we work on a fixed-price basis and quote these prices before the engagement is confirmed. Companies can bundle recurring review requirements cost-effectively through our external legal department.

How to recognise a useful audit result

There is a significant variation in the quality of contract reviews, and this is reflected in the final report. A useful report sets out proposed changes rather than merely identifying problems. A finding such as ‘the liability clause is disadvantageous’ is followed by a specific alternative wording, with a justification that the other party can accept. It prioritises rather than simply listing: three deal-breakers highlighted in bold are worth more than thirty comments of equal importance in which the critical points are lost. It assesses matters from a commercial rather than purely legal perspective: what will a particular clause cost in the event of a dispute, and what level of residual risk is acceptable given the value of the transaction? And it concludes with a recommendation, as this is what the solicitor is paid to do: sign, renegotiate or reject.

In the case of international contracts, the prospect of enforcement comes into play – an aspect that mere clause reviews regularly overlook. A perfectly negotiated contract with a place of jurisdiction clause in a country where a judgement against the other party is unenforceable is an expensive illusion. The choice of law, place of jurisdiction or arbitration clauses, and the practicalities of enforcement must be considered together. We have outlined the basics in our article on place of jurisdiction and choice of law in international contracts. For companies with an ongoing volume of international contracts, our ‘Worldwide Contracting’ solutions page brings together review, negotiation and contract standards. Anyone wishing to develop their own standard documents will find the basics in the article on general terms and conditions and standard contracts for Mittelstand and in the article on the drafting of general terms and conditions by a solicitor.

Last updated: July 2026.