Watch Those Fees

/ Bruce Cameron / 1 Comment

Despite the favorable press, value billing schemes (be they flat fees, fixed fees, minimum fees with change orders) may run into Rule 1.5(b) issues if not properly handled. The thing to remember is that not all forms of lump sum payments can be classified as non-refundable.

Non-refundable retainers (or engagement fees) are “paid, apart from any other compensation to ensure that a lawyer will be available for the client if required” (see: Restatement 3rd, The Law Governing Lawyers, sec. 34, Comment e). According to the Restatement, a fee can be non-refundable if and only if the attorney is to be additionally compensated for the actual work performed. The typical engagement fee should be designed to cover the reasonable costs needed to set up a client file and prepare for the particular matter. Basically an engagement fee is reasonable if it bears a reasonable relationship to the income sacrificed or expense incurred by the attorney’s accepting the client/client’s matter (e.g. cost of turning away other clients, hiring new associates, keeping up with the relevant law).

However, if the advanced payment is to cover the lawyer’s services to the client, making that payment non-refundable will be contrary to public policy because it will compromise the client’s ability to discharge the attorney and secure other counsel. Remember, the client can discharge an attorney at any time for any reason and the attorney is entitled only to the reasonable value of services performed.

When working with fixed fees, good practice would suggest that (a) the retainer agreement list landmarks and the portion of the fee that will be considered earned at those points in the matter and (b) the fee is deposited into the attorney’s trust account until it is earned.

50 Years Ago

/ Bruce Cameron

A night flight in a light aircraft ended abruptly a few minutes after take-off and 5 miles from the airport according to the accident report.

Today is the 50th anniversary of the deaths of Charles Hardin, J.P. Richardson and Richard Valenzuela (aka Buddy Holly, “The Big Bopper”, and Ritchie Valens) and marks the “day the music died“.

Reading the accident report, it appears that, in the end, the pilots over-eagerness to make the flight overruled common sense. Seems like there might be a lesson in there somewhere for lawyers and the decision to take/not take a client.

Value Billing; Old Wine New Bottles?

/ Bruce Cameron / 1 Comment

If I understanding things correctly, the basic premise behind value billing is that the fee for a matter is determined by the outcome and/or type of services the client wants and the significance (value) of that outcome to the client. However, this does not mean that the client is completely free to dictate the fee received for services rendered. Rather it falls upon the attorney to educate the client as to the value provided (Ron Baker, Pricing Psychology). It is suggested that the attorney establish some measure of value. In Value Billing – What is it, and how is it done, Allison Shields suggests that the attorney:

[D]iscuss the client’s current pain or challenge – in other words, what is it costing the client to do nothing? What will it cost the client if the client delays taking action? What opportunities might the client miss? Or what would it mean to the client to reach their objective? How will the result achieved affect the client’s business or personal life?

Now, for a business to remain in business, income must be greater than or equal to expenditures. Setting an hourly rate is, in essence, a simple matter of estimating: the hours that can be billed to clients over the course of a year, the expenses incurred, and the desired profit (rate = (expenses + profit)/hours). I submit that the value billing attorney must perform a similar calculus when trying to establish value provided, after all there are a fixed number of “things” that can be accomplished in a year and a known amount of income that must be generated. Continue reading →

Thrive in hard times

/ Bruce Cameron

As a companion to his book The Power of Less, Leo Babauta offers us the free e-book Thriving on Less.

The common sense rules Mr. Babauta offers are not specifically geared towards businesses. Rather, he addresses what he sees as the more fundamental problem of rampant consumerism on an individual basis. While Thriving on Less is a mere outline of the material presented in the Power of Less, it does provide Mr. Babauta’s fundamental rules for thriving in tough economic times.

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work — Thomas Edison

IOLTA ABCs

/ Bruce Cameron

OK, strictly speaking, you don’t need to have a trust account. If you never receive settlements on behalf of clients, never receive advance fee or cost payments from clients, and never hold other funds on behalf of clients – you might not (at least in MN) need a trust account. However, the Lawyers Professional Responsibility Board’s recommended practice is to maintain a trust account just in case. Think of it as cheap CYA insurance.

Opening an IOLTA (lawyer’s trust account) in Minnesota is a simple process – find an approved bank, download and complete a Notice to Financial Institution form (see the Lawyer Trust Account Board), and then take the form with you to the bank when you open the account. After spending 30 minutes with a banker and making a nominal deposit you’ll walk away with an IOLTA account.

While the Lawyers Board and the Minnesota Bar Association have a number of helpful materials on managing your trust account, they do omit some very practical hints like:

  • Use different color checks for your operating and trust accounts (green for your operating account – its your money & red for your trust account – stop its your client’s money)
  • Color code your deposit slips so that they match the check color of the account (green stripe for operating, red stripe for trust)
  • Keep your trust account & operating account at different banks
  • When choosing a bank for your trust account, ask what interest rate the bank pays on the funds – pick a bank that offers the best interest rate. It costs you nothing while helping others.