A doctor and a lawyer are chatting at a cocktail party. "I hate these parties" the physician said. "As soon as anyone finds out I'm a doctor, they are always quizzing me about every little ache and pain."

"That's easy to solve" said the lawyer. "When it happens, just send them a bill for Medical Advice. Works every time." The doctor thought that was a great idea, and thanked the lawyer.

The next day, the doctor arrived at his office to find a letter from the lawyer. In the envelope was a $300 invoice for "Legal Advice".

It's an old joke, one that lawyers have heard a million times. Yet it highlights the stereotype that lawyers are interested only in money, and gouge their clients at every opportunity.

We don't think that is true, obviously, but legal costs are always an issue. So we are going to share a secret with you that can eliminate many lawyer visits. In turn, it will save you hundreds or thousands of dollars in legal fees, and many times more in damages and costs to your business.

It works in all sorts of situations. You or your employees might have messed up something and caused damages to a customer. You might be angry with a supplier over a contract. It can be anything where you or another party feel aggrieved. Here's what you do:

Talk to them.

OK, we know you are disappointed. It is much too simple, and can't make that much difference, can it? Indeed it can. Lawyers know that communication makes the biggest difference when resolving disputes.

One of the basic roles that lawyers play is as middleman, shuttling demands and information back and forth. We do this for a lot of reasons, but the most common one is because the principal parties do not want to do it themselves. They may be embarrassed to talk to the person they wronged. They might be so angry that meaningful dialogue is impossible. Plenty of emotion comes into play, and lawyers serve to insulate that emotion.

But no matter how good the lawyer is, they can't completely replace their client. They can pass along regret, for example, but it's not the same as hearing the person apologize themself. It is surprising how often a multi-million dollar lawsuit could be avoided or minimized if one side had just picked up the phone and said "Fred, we screwed up on this. I wish it hadn't happened, but it did. Can we talk about how we can fix this, and then see how we can make it right?" Yes, it might still cost some money. But it would have cost money anyway, and probably far more than if you hadn't stonewalled through the process.

Likewise, when my client is in the middle of closing a deal, and I am starting to go around in circles with the other lawyer over a major (or minor) point, it is remarkable how quickly the matter gets solved by just getting everyone together in a room to talk to each other. The other side can see that you aren't quite the ogre they imagined (and vice versa), and business gets done.

Not every situation warrants an apology, of course. Cases involving insurance coverage, among others, need careful handling. You should still talk to your lawyer before making the phone call to the other side, but the difference is that you will be the one having the eventual one-on-one, not the lawyer.

Even if you accept what I am saying, you are probably wondering if we will get drummed out of the Law Society for spilling this deep, dark secret. In fact, any good lawyer is already giving this advice to their clients. They have their customers' best interests at heart, and see themselves as true partners in achieving success for the business.

Successful businesses have strong relationships with all of their advisors - legal, accounting, financing and others. While communication is important, there are all sorts of things that need guidance and third-party advice, so we are not afraid of putting our firm out of work. Like any advisor, we need to provide value. Use your advisors, but remember it is only advice. You always have the final call, and your involvement is the most important.