What A Lawyer Must Do To Increase Hourly Billing Rates Or Modify A Fee Agreement
Invariably, when a legal matter has continued for some time, there is an increase hourly billing rates over what was disclosed in the original Fee agreement. Sometimes, though, there are more substantive changes or modifications to the original Fee Agreement. In the following segment from my book, The Art Of Hiring The Right Lawyer & […]
For Attorneys Only! How to Avoid Legal Bill Disputes.
As most of my posts have been for the benefit of clients of lawyers, I thought it was about time to write a post for the benefit of lawyers. And since lawyers like to get paid for their services, what better topic to write about than how to significantly reduce, if not totally avoid, the […]
Why Weaponized ADR Clauses In Retainer Agreements Require “Informed Consent”
I am a big supporter of using alternative dispute resolution (ADR) to resolve fee bill disputes when direct negotiation fails. Having been a registered mediator, I have seen firsthand how ADR can work to resolve not just fee bill disputes, but all kinds of disputes. In my book, The Art Of Hiring The Right Attorney, I […]
Super Lawyers: Are They Really “Super” Lawyers?”
In shopping around for a new lawyer, you may have noticed how many lawyers proudly proclaim that they have been awarded the “Super Lawyer” designation. As a matter of fact, with each new Super Lawyers directory I receive each year, I note that more and more lawyers are being named Super Lawyers. So many in […]
Happy New Year and Beware of Surprises in 4th Quarter Bills
It’s been said with good justification that “a lawyer’s pen gets heavier during the fourth quarter.” Invariably, as the year nears an end, lawyers (and paralegals) scramble to find things to do in their files in order to make their firm’s hourly billing “targets” (i.e., goals) for the year. You see a lot depends upon meeting law firm billing targets […]
Using Outsourced Legal Staff
The following is an excerpt from my book, Red Flags In Legal Bills: What Signals Are Attorneys Sending? Related to the issue of “transient billers” who are likely employees of the firm, there is the use of temporary or contract workers from outside the firm. If it is suspected that an outside temporary or contract attorney […]
Googling To Find Out If Your Attorney Used Form Documents
I used to belong to a practice section of my state bar that I called the “Does Anyone Have a Form I Could Use” practice section. I call the practice section by this name because most of the posts on the section listserve were from attorneys asking other attorneys if anyone has a particular form […]
The Importance of Agreeing On Legal Staff To Be Used
In the introduction to The Art Of Hiring The Right Lawyer & Negotiating A Fee Agreement That Will Save On Legal Costs, I note that the book was written especially for small business or individual clients of lawyers. As I point out, these types of clients typically do not have the leverage that large corporations […]
On Using and Billing for “Re-cycled Work Product” “A lawyer who is able to reuse old work product has not re-earned the hours previously billed.” ABA Standing Comm. on Ethics & Professional Responsibility Formal Op. 93-379 (1993) In reviewing legal bills and speaking at CLE seminars to attorneys, I have found that too many attorneys lack a […]
Why Most Lawyers Do Not Have a Duty to be “Zealous Advocates”
Twice I have heard speakers at my state bar’s annual convention cite to a lawyer’s ethical duty to be a “zealous advocate” when representing a client. That all lawyers have an ethical duty to be zealous advocates is just something that everyone knows to be factually correct. Right? Well, not exactly. The plain fact is that the duty of zealous advocacy has […]