So You Want to Get Paid...

by Frank Kraemer, QC

The practice of law offers personal satisfaction in many ways. For some, it is the challenge of legal analysis, for others it is crafting the persuasive winning argument and for still others, it is being recognized by your peers and your community as a respected professional. But underlying all of this is the undeniable need to generate the revenue that permits you, as a lawyer, to pursue that aspect of the practice of law that satisfies you most. Let’s face it, you can be the best lawyer in the world, but if you generate insufficient revenue to support the operation of your practice and pay your basic personal expenses, chances are the practice of law will cease being very satisfying for you fairly quickly.

I recently had occasion to browse through a portion of the CBA website called PracticeLink. There I came across an article entitled “Guerrilla Tactics on Getting Paid” (http://www.cba.org/CBA/PracticeLink/MF/gettingaccountspaid.aspx) and it caught my attention.

Certainly, there were the usual admonishments to discuss fees with your client early, to provide estimates where appropriate, to obtain retainer agreements detailing the nature of the contract for the services that you are to provide and the payment of your fees and disbursements, as well as some more subtle suggestions that intrigued me. In this column, I would like to briefly touch upon some of those thoughts.

It is important that the client be allowed to tell their story to you, with minimal guidance. That gives the client a feeling of satisfaction/relief and is indeed part of the healing process clients seek from their lawyers. I remember on several occasions hurrying the client through his or her story in a matrimonial matter often because I felt I already knew the ending and I remember recognizing the angst sometimes felt by the client. Taking time to listen to the client can be invaluable in developing client loyalty to you and this can pay dividends in terms of the client’s willingness to heed your advice, be satisfied with your representation and, at the end of the day, pay your bill.

The second important observation is to avoid the temptation not to deliver the bad news. I remember when I was first in practice being fearful of telling a client they had a weak case, for fear they would leave my office and that this might reflect badly on me in the eyes of the partners for whom I worked. I quickly came to realize that by not giving the client the “straight goods,” false expectations were set up, the client was later disappointed and subsequently was less inclined to pay for the time that I had put into the case. To quote from the Guerrilla Tactics article, “If you have cancer, you want to know the truth, so that it can be dealt with in a constructive manner. The same goes for accurate “diagnoses” from lawyers.”

Thirdly, don’t be afraid to say no, especially to requests for work if you are unpaid for what you have already done. Don’t be afraid to dismiss the client in the appropriate circumstances. (see Tony Wilson’s “Fire A Client Day” article in the February 2006 BarTalk).

Finally, thank your clients when you speak to them, when you write to them, and more importantly, when they pay your accounts. Everyone likes a pat on the back and clients are no different.

I commend the Guerrilla Tactics article to you for its many other useful suggestions.

This article was published in the June 2006 issue of BarTalk and is subject to the copyright by the British Columbia Branch of the Canadian Bar Association, 2006, all rights reserved.