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As attorneys, one of the most frustrating parts of our practice is to collect money from our clients.  My number one rule is that we have to care more about our bill getting paid than we do about our clients because a lot of them seem not to care if our bill is paid. 

In family law, I see people who are emotionally stressed and defeated.  They are hurting and they want the pain to go away.  I have asked more than one person, “…was I not clear about the potential cost of this matter and our expectation for payment?” The usual answer is “I was just hopeful…” or “I thought I could come up with the money somehow.”  The bottom line is that they knew they didn’t have an intention of paying their bill.  They just wanted us to do the work and go away.  The interesting thing is that most malpractice carriers tell us attorneys to not pursue collections. 

The solution of course is to make sure that clients keep enough money in the retainer so that when you are working you know the money is there to pay you.  If all attorneys were able to maintain this then I think we would see a lot less litigation and more settlements.  However, most attorneys have not learned the art of making sure their clients keep their trust account funded and they end up having to collect on a bill long after they did the work on the file.

We have compiled a list of excuses that our law firm has heard over the years from clients who are trying to avoid paying their bill.  We have attached appropriate labels for them since the excuses tend to fall in categories.  They are:

1. Check’s in the mail – “Keep working on my file, I will start paying on the bill when I get paid.” Or “I’ll make a payment by the end of the month.”
2. Heartstrings gambit - “I know you will do the right thing and forgive my bill”.
3. Blackmail ploy – “If you make me pay then I will start a smear campaign about your law firm on the internet.”  Or “If you make me pay I will sue you.”
4. Confused and bewildered – “What is my total bill?  Can I make payments? How small can I make them?”
5. A variation on the above is, “Can you send me copies of all my past bills? I want to review them before I pay you.”
6. Missing bill means you work for free scenario – “I haven’t received your bill for a few months so I stopped paying you.”
7. The Work wasn’t good enough so I don’t need to pay attitude – “The attorney handling the case didn’t do anything.”  “She didn’t try hard enough,” or “You should have been able to convince the judge.”
8. Everyone is more important story – “I don’t have the money to pay you and I can’t ask my parents” (or other family).  A variation is “Credit – I don’t use credit cards. Can you take payments?” or “I can’t pay you now, I had to pay my parents back first.” 

What all these excuses have in common are individuals who want something for nothing.  What I want you all to consider is what you could have been doing instead of working on a file, negotiating settlements with difficult opposing parties, opposing counsel, or even an angry or hostile client, when you know you are not going to get paid.  Think about the time away from your own family.  One attorney told me a long time ago, “We shovel other people’s sh** for a living. We should at least be paid to do it.  If I’m not getting paid, I’d rather be fishing.”  I think he’s right.