The best tip is to ask for flat fee services. We do that often with start ups so the hourly clock is not an issue. Typically, we are willing to take a flat fee that would be a little less than the minimum amount of time we estimate (and usually the task takes way more time than the minimum).
For example, filing and maintaining a trademark takes about 4-5 hours total. That would cost a person $1,200.00 - $1,500.00 based on our hourly rate of $300.00. We charge a flat rate of $1,000.00 so the client knows how to budget ... and the fact that we don't have to surprise a client with a high bill is good for customer relations.
The same goes for contract drafting and review.