Small Law Firms, Solo Practitioners

How To Deal With Clients Who Want You To Discount Your Fee

Only give discounts to clients who are willing to make concessions and do their part.

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On occasion, prospective clients will ask for (or even demand) a discount. A lot of times they claim they cannot afford you while you notice the luxury purse and their new iPhone. Or they tell you that the lawyer across town is charging less, usually without proof. Or they question the value of your work usually by claiming that all you are doing is “filling out paperwork” or they have a “slam-dunk” case.

I don’t like to give discounts for a number of reasons. Obviously it means less money for me. But it also starts the professional relationship on a bad note. Not only that, you’ll notice that once the discount has been finalized, that’s when the client will tell you additional information that makes their case more difficult to resolve and then holds you to your new fee. And as the case drags on, you will probably pay more attention to higher paying clients or those who are easier to work with.

So here are a few steps you can take to deal with clients who demand discounts for your services.

Try to talk them out of a discount. Most people hire attorneys only once or twice their entire lives and don’t know any in their inner circle of family and friends. They may not truly appreciate what an attorney does during the day.

So try to explain to the client what you will need to do to achieve a favorable outcome in their case. If you have worked on similar cases, try sharing some war stories, particularly any difficulties you have encountered. Once the client understands the complexity work involved, and the advantages of retaining you and your legal expertise, they are more likely to pay your asking price.

Any discount should be minimal. Some people just care about saving money regardless of the effect on quality. But you don’t want to put yourself in a situation where you spend a lot of time on a low-paying case. So do not start the negotiations by offering a large discount. The discount should be a small percentage at most.

The client should pay in full as soon as possible in exchange for the discount. In negotiations, both parties have to make concessions. So if you are going to give the client a discount, demand that they pay in full immediately. If you have to enter into a payment plan, it should not last longer than a few months. Full payment will minimize the chances of fee disputes and clients asking for additional discounts in the future. You’ll be amazed at how some people can magically find money when they are offered a discount.

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The client must agree to fully cooperate. In addition to paying you in full as soon as possible, the client has to agree to fully cooperate. While this should be standard in any attorney-client relationship and most clients do their best to work with you, I have run into more than a few who constantly complain, do not call back, or otherwise fail to take their case seriously, thinking that the lawyer will do all of they work.

For starters, I require the client to fully disclose everything from the get-go and warn them that any surprises that they hide from me could result in a fee increase.

Also, I require that all documents have to be sent by the deadlines that I set. They must call third parties themselves to get the documents. The paperwork must be organized and properly labeled so I can locate everything easily. If I have to spend the time organizing everything, then there will be a fee increase.

While there is nothing wrong with haggling, most attorneys know the value of their time and expertise. But if a client insists on a discount, only give it to those who are willing to make concessions and do their part.

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Shannon Achimalbe was a former solo practitioner for five years before deciding to sell out and get back on the corporate ladder. Shannon can be reached by email at sachimalbe@excite.com and via Twitter: @ShanonAchimalbe.

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