Just because a law firm is big does not mean it’s “bigger and better.” In fact, small firms and solo practitioners usually make far more sense for small businesses.

After six years at a top global law firm, I started a solo practice that has now grown into a small boutique firm. So I know firsthand: my clients get better representation now than I could provide at my big firm, and at about a third of the cost. Hiring a top gun mega-firm guarantees enormous bills, but not enormous success.

If you are negotiating oil leases with the Saudi government or facing a $100 million complex class action lawsuit with 200 witnesses in 200 cities, then by all means hire a big firm. That’s what they’re for. But too often, small businesses hire a firm for prestige or in the mistaken belief that it will intimidate the opposition. That’s a horrible waste of money.

In fact, like most good lawyers, I am thrilled to go up against a top firm. First and foremost, that’s because I know exactly how they will handle a case. They will be smart and thorough, but entirely predictable. They will be cordial, collegial and they will play fair. And they will be charging an arm and a leg, which gives my client a huge leg up in the settlement dance.

That’s not to say there’s not a lot of creativity and legal talent in those skyscrapers. It’s just that those resources are mostly going to bigger clients who spend millions annually—and certainly not to the cases worth less than a million dollars.

A big firm usually assigns a case to three lawyers: a senior partner, a mid-level person, and a newbie.

The newbie is completely worthless—mostly because they don’t teach practical real-world lawyering skills at Harvard. Savvy Fortune 500 companies don’t even allow first- or second-year associates to work on their cases, because they know its little more than on-the-job training.

The senior partner doesn’t contribute all that much either (thankfully, given the cost).

It’s the mid-level person who does all the important work. The mid-level guy or gal first assigns the research to Newbie, who works ten hours and treats it like a college thesis–preparing a legal memorandum that the middle guy then reviews and marks up (again like a college paper). The young guy then spends three more hours fixing it up and then hands it in.

Middle guy then re-checks all the research because there better not be anything wrong or confusing in there when Mr. Big reads it! Not only is that process cumbersome and inefficient, it’s also antiseptic. Young Guy and Middle Guy are mostly interested in not making a mistake, which hardly makes for conducive, creative or client-oriented decisions. The thinking is all very much “inside” the box.

On the other side, there is me. I do my own research. There are no memos, politics, or people pleasing–and I come to the answer in two hours at my computer. With rates far less expensive than what they billed for me at the big firm, the savings are enormous and the result is better tailored to the case.