Parker's Points
June 2008
Ten Ways to Avoid Collections Issues
Calling clients because they have not paid on time is not a pleasant task. It is also time consuming. Some attorneys use staff members to make these calls. Solo attorneys must do this themselves or give it over to a collection service. Do you wish that all your clients would pay as soon as they receive the bill? Here are some tips to encourage prompt payment.
- Accept Credit Cards By billing your work to a client's credit card you get paid immediately with no wait unless the fee must go into your Trust account. Still you now have some control over the money. You pay a fee to the credit card company but it makes collections a non issue for those clients.
- Explain billing practices at initial meeting with client. Once you explain the practices give the client a document with the practices detailed on it. If the client has questions about billing as you go along, you now have something to refer them to.
- Bill regularly. The more frequently the better. From the client's perspective there is nothing worse than getting a huge bill for the services with no intermediate bills that explains what was done in their behalf at a time when the client remembers it.
- Be clear with client about hourly rate of various people who work on their matter. If you have other lawyers and paralegals work on a case who have different hourly rates, be sure the client understands this as well as the differences in the functions of each.
- The bill should have a written explanation of each item on the bill. The more you can describe what has been done on the bill, the more the client understands that work has been done in his/her behalf that must be paid for.
- Stay ahead of client with retainer fee. Maintain a sufficient amount in client's trust account to bill against. Ask yourself if the amount you ask for a retainer is sufficient. Increase it if necessary.
- Show client any waived fees such as short phone calls by writing no charge next to the item on the bill. This helps to build some good will with the client.
- Use action words (phoned, researched, conferred) in describing your work.Clients understand that this is work. These words take the mystery out of legal work especially for those not used to dealing with lawyers.
- Offer a discount if paid in full by a certain date. This may be just the incentive the client needs to pay the bill immediately.
- Describe how the work done furthers the client's goals on the
bill. Your goal is to show the client how valuable your service
was to his/her successful conclusion of the matter.