10 Tips on Lawyers, Fees and Money

Let's talk law offices and the practice of law.  You all probably don't know that as part of what I do, I am co-chair of the fee dispute committee for our local bar.  Yes, there is a committee that investigates and helps resolve disputes about the amount of a lawyer's fees.  Before you get all excited and think you can come to us and say that someone's hourly rate was too high, or that they shouldn't have charged you a fee because you lost your case (yes, it happens), the fee dispute committee is there to look at a fee and see whether it was, in fact, too high (for some reason, no one ever complains that their lawyer charged them too little - go figure), and help the client and the lawyer settle on the disputed fee. Anyway, we joke at our Bar that I am chair of this committee for life, because I've been doing this 8 or 9 years, and no one else wants to do it.  As a result, I have seen a lot of lawyers' bills, from the really expensive big firms, to the solo practitioner.  Let me give you some tips as you wade into the Trenches, so I don't see your complaint cross my desk.

1.   Read your retainer agreement BEFORE you sign it.  I know, this sounds simple.  In fact, a few of you just face planted on the table at the thought that someone wouldn't do this.  It is my experience that almost no one really reads their retainer agreement.  I have been in private practice for almost 30 years, and I can count on one hand (with fingers left over) the number of people who took their retainer agreement with them to read at their leisure, and who then contacted me with questions about the language in the agreement before they signed it.  If it says I can charge you interest on an overdue balance, don't you want to know when I might do that and when I won't?  I know I try to keep my retainer agreements in plain English, but there are still pieces of them that are not easy to understand if you're not a lawyer.  Don't feel stupid if you ask a question; and conversely, if the lawyer tries to make you feel stupid for asking it, do you want them to be your lawyer?

2.  OPEN your monthly statements and READ them.  Again, sounds simple, yet it's not.  I had one client to whom I mailed a cashier's check for a lot of overdue child support.  After a period of time, the other attorney contacted me to make sure my client received the check, because it hadn't been cashed.  I called my client, who proceeded to sift through the 20 or so unopened envelopes from me sitting on the desk.  Yes, I said unopened.  So first, open your mail.  Second, read it.  If you don't understand a billing entry, if you don't recall why there would be that billing entry, if the amount of time seems excessive (although I did have someone complain once that I didn't spend enough time perusing a document), then call the lawyer's office within 30 days of receipt.  They should answer your questions and not charge you for the privilege of doing so (unless, of course, you combine a discussion of your case into that call or email).  I'm charging you a lot of money - don't you care to know on what you're spending?  If you wait until the end of your case and then open the bills and dispute on from 9 months ago, chances are, no one is going to be sympathetic.

3.   Ask who is going to be working on your case.  Is it just the person sitting behind the desk with you now, or will other people be doing work for you?  Ask what work they will be doing.  Ask why.  Ask what happens if there are two people sitting in on your meeting, mediation or court appearance?  Will you get charged for both?  Is there a blended rate?  Why are two people necessary?  There are often really good reasons for two people to work at the same time on the same matter and same part of the matter.  Sometimes there aren't.  My office rarely, if ever, charges for two people at the same meeting.   Some offices, however, divide duties and as a part of those divided duties, each lawyer/paralegal is doing something different and necessary even in the same meeting - that might be a reason to charge for two people. I have been a client, however, and my attorney (who I soon fired) had another attorney sit in on every meeting, even though that attorney added no value whatsoever to the meeting and was simply there to know what was going on.  When I complained after the first bill that showed that charge, I was told that was simply how they did it and I would be charged for two lawyers whether I wanted them or not.  OK, then I knew, and I had a choice whether to stay with that firm or move somewhere else.  Do not fail to read your bill and then complain at the end of the representation that you were double-billed; that's your fault and your problem.

4.  By the same token, ask if the lawyer does all the work on your case, or if their paralegal/assistant does a first draft that the lawyer then edits and expands upon.  Who goes through and organizes the volumes of documents you provide - the lawyer or an assistant?  Some firms don't have paralegals.  Some firms don't have anyone but lawyers start to draft or review anything.  Others have their paralegals/assistants take a first crack at it.  None of these ways of getting out the work is wrong, it's just different, with different costs.  You're paying for it and you should know.  If you don't know, and don't read your bill and then don't complain until after 9 months of those charges, I don't feel that sorry for you.

5.  You will be charged for the lawyer to do research.  We don't know everything like the back of our hands, and we want to make sure that we are accurately applying the most recent law to your case.  As a client, I want my lawyer to do that.  Here's what I don't want them to do:  teach themselves the basics on my dime.  You should not be charged for research for things as elementary as how to file an answer, how many interrogatories they are allowed to ask, how many days until a pleading is due.  Yes, I've seen it.

6.  For what are you going to be charged, when and why?  Filing the papers in your file at the office?  Opening and organizing your file? Phone calls to set appointments and court dates?   Making copies (both by the page and by the hour)?  Travel?  Postage?  Hand delivery?  Again, I've seen courts award lawyers their fees for all of these things, so they're permissible charges, but don't you want to know before you open your bill?  Don't you want to know how the lawyer defines all these terms, so that you can make sure you're on the same page?  Many of these things will not be in your retainer agreement, or if they are, are not defined or set forth in detail.

7.  Ask what you can do to work on your case to save money.  It costs a lot of money to sort through all of your papers and put them in order and figure out what you didn't provide.  It takes a lot of time to go through the documents your spouse provided and do the same.  If you can do that, and give a detailed breakdown of what's there and what's not, it'll save you quite a bit of money.  If you're good with a spreadsheet and are good at tracing the money, I won't tell you you can't, and again, if you do it well, it will save you money. Of course, if you bring me documents thrown into a shopping bag, or send me documents in no particular order, or forget to tell me everything I need to know to assess what I have, it will cost you a lot, and I can and will charge you for that.

8.  Lawyers do not guarantee outcomes.  There are a lot of reasons why you may not "win" your case.  I can pretty much guarantee you won't get everything you want.  Most of the reasons have absolutely nothing to do with whether the attorney did the work necessary for the job.  If your lawyer phoned it in, that's a problem,  but most don't and they are prepared for whatever your case brings to the best of their ability.  Sometimes your case isn't that good, or the judge isn't sympathetic, or your attorney didn't have the skills or experience another lawyer would have.  That last one's on you.  I know, lawyers are expensive.  I know, you want to save money.  Let me clue you in to a secret that really isn't a secret.  Although there are exceptions, the bargain basement lawyer is cheap because they are either not that good at what they do or because they haven't been doing it very long.  Give me a $100 an hour lawyer, and I will run rings around them every time because I've been doing this almost 30 years so I have more experience and knowledge, because I've worked on hundreds of cases, and I attend hours every year of continuing education.  I do the same work in less time and know what is important in a case and how to present it.  I also have a reputation for knowing what I'm doing and for being candid with other lawyers and the court, and those take time and effort to build.  That's why I'm paid more.  Don't hire the cheapest lawyer and then refuse to pay the bill because they didn't  handle your case like the most expensive lawyer.

9.  If you are running out of money for your case, talk to your lawyer.  Don't let the bill continue to increase while you hide your head in the sand.  We know the process is expensive.  We know your finances better than do you.  We would rather not be stuck with a huge receivable or have to withdraw from your case because we're not being paid.  Have a conversation with your lawyer and see what other payment arrangements can be made.  Don't be embarrassed - we'd so much rather have that conversation with you now than sue you later or leave you in a lurch.  Maybe they'll work out the bill with you and maybe they won't. but isn't it better to know?

10.  Be an educated consumer.  Read what's sent or given to you.  Ask questions.  Learn your options. take an active part in your case.  It is your life and your money, after all.  Here in the Trenches.