Ruining It For The Rest Of Us.

It is interesting, signing up a new client. Some clients, typically the ones who don’t
have a tremendous amount of experience with legal services, are easy to deal
with in many ways.  They appreciate what
you achieve for them as long as you set expectations up front.

But, sophisticated legal consumers already believe that an
hour of attorney time offers little, if any, value. In fact, they don’t even think of value any
more. They just want to keep the bill
under control and do so by berating the attorney when a bill arrives. Oftentimes, they delay payment to send a
message of disapproval.

Many companies have become as cynical as the lawyers who
have served them through the years. Oftentimes, they have used a variety of
counsel through the years. Promises are
made at the beginning of the case, which, of course, turn out to be
non-binding. Little is said. The hourly bills come in month after
month. Things seem great for a while. But nothing seems to be achieved and the end
zone, wherever it is, doesn’t show up anywhere on the upcoming calendar.

Many clients agree to walk away from the merits of their
case halfway through, purely on the prospect of never-ending hourly fees. Nothing truly is gained. The client is lucky to have covered their
costs. More often than not, they are
staring at a $50,000 – $100,000 legal bill, scores of hours in litigation support,
and little to show for it.

I have to say that one of the most difficult things is
attracting new sophisticated clients. They are the hardest to deal with. I can talk value all day long, but they know nothing but hourly billing. Some are converted and become great clients,
but some are so engrained in habit that every conversation seems to protect
themselves against the monthly bill. They don’t talk value; they don’t see value.

Beware of the client that doesn’t enthusiastically embrace
the projected bill on defined deliverables. A client that has been burned too
many times may never get to the point of understanding that legal services can
provide real value.