Legal fees - Value is in the eyes of the beholder
Price and value are clearly not the same when it comes to legal fees. While both are time sensitive (as of any given moment in time), the former generally is set by the seller/lawyer and the latter is generally perceived by the buyer/client. Price can be value, in my opinion, when the client is involved in the setting of the legal fee and price is determined by the value perceived by the client. Some folks call this "value billing."
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I just had to pat myself on the back this week. In the midst of a very tough economic crunch I said "no."
I'd seen this guy once, he bounced the check for his initial conference fee, and he'd cancelled at least four appointments at which the first retainer check was to be handed over (of course, he wss a Very Important Professional who had to solve World Issues so it was okay for him to blow off our appointments on a consistent basis . . . and all this before he'd even signed the agreement!)
Breezing in from solving yet another world crisis, the guy (for the upteenth time) sent word that he was (finally) ready to sign up.
I reminded him that my retainer agreement (which I had given him at our first meeting over a month earlier) had a provision that set the term for that particular offer at 30 days. I reminded him it had been more than 30 days. I appreciated the importance of the work he did, but suggested that one of the bases on which I set a retainer is the likelihood of the client to be cooperative. I suggested that, since he seemed to be having difficulty showing up (the 90% rule) for the first meeting I was concerned that, once the pressure of litigation became an issue, he would be unable to cooperate with my requests for contact, documents, etc. (I didn't mention payment).
I decided I am absolutely NOT going to take another client who shows any identifiable sign of being one who requires a huge expenditure of time just to get the bill paid.
So I told him that, based on the brief record so far, the contract would have to be renegotiated with a higher base retainer.
I haven't heard from him since.
I really needed a new client. Especially one with the income potential of this one. But I really don't need to babysit clients just to get them to pay me. I really don't need to remind clients of what they promised to do. I really do need clients who value my services enough to respect my commitment to their case. That's more important than a massive cash infusion.
Seems to me the trick is weeding 'em out before they sign that agreement. No matter how much I want the work, I'm learning to respect myself enough to accept clients who also respect me. That's value.