When Clients Try To Be Cheap By Doing The Work Themselves
Some people do not understand or appreciate what experienced lawyers know.
We’ve all encountered the cheap client. When I say cheap, I do not mean those who are indigent. I am talking about those who make it their primary goal to pay the attorney as little as possible. One way a client does this is to try doing the work themselves.
A few days ago, I had brunch with a friend who introduced me to one of her friends. Let’s call her Sally. At one point we were talking about estate planning. Sally suggested that we look into one of those websites that prepares all estate planning documents online. She said that we should act fast because if we sign up before the end of the year, we can get half off the regular price. And she gave us her referral code.
I tried to be subtle and diplomatic about my disagreement. I suggested that it would be a better idea to discuss important estate planning documents with an attorney. She said that attorneys will charge too much for her “simple” estate plan. The website also allows her to connect with attorneys in their network who can answer her questions.
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I asked Sally if she reached out to any estate planning attorneys before going to that website. She said, “I saw one. Or five.” I suspect she was lying.
She then told me that this is just a start and she will work with an attorney when her estate plan becomes more complex. I asked her what she meant by “more complex.” She had no answer. Just mentioned that most people can’t afford lawyers.
When I got home, I looked up Sally on Facebook. Even though we weren’t friends, I was able to see a lot of her posts and photos. I see that she likes to travel. Often. She also loves deals, as she frequently posts coupons, discount promotions, and tips on bargaining. She also talks about stocks. Based on this, it is a fair assumption that Sally has money. Maybe not a lot of money, but enough to pay an attorney without suffering a financial hardship.
Needless to say, my first impression of Sally was upsetting. Not because she chose to go online to prepare legal documents.
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What upset me was that I think she did not even talk to an estate planning attorney about her needs before going online. People like her are intimidated by attorneys because they think we are greedy and aggressive. And they know friends who feel ripped off because they paid thousands of dollars to an attorney for a “simple” legal matter that they think they could have done themselves. Yes, attorneys are almost always more expensive than a DIY fill-in-the-blank website. But some of them could have been flexible with their fees.
When Sally said she wanted to go to the website to draft the documents first and see an attorney later, it did not make financial sense to me. Why pay for legal documents online and then pay an attorney later to review them and draft additional documents? It would make more sense to just see the attorney the first time and visit him again to make changes. The cost savings would be minimal at best.
But I think Sally has a different plan in mind. She will use the website to draft routine estate planning documents. Then later she will go to an attorney to get a real plan once she has substantial assets. But she will demand a substantial discount because the paperwork has already been done and she wants the attorney to only “review” them and make “minor changes” as needed. I’ve seen people use this tactic with contracts, partnership agreements, and corporate bylaws that they downloaded online or drafted themselves.
Now there is nothing wrong with wanting to save money. If Attorney A charges $1,000 and Attorney B charges $900 for the same service, assuming Attorney A does not provide other benefits, I would choose Attorney B.
But Sally is trying to do as much of the work she can herself before going to an attorney. And she is likely to demand a discount because most of the “simple” work is already done.
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But we know it’s not that “simple.” For example, I have had potential clients ask me to draft a will or contract. But they later send me draft documents they prepared online and ask me to reduce their fee because they think my work product will be similar. I respond by telling them that I have to slowly and closely review a foreign work product to make sure everything is correct and charge accordingly. But they don’t want to hear that. They want the bottom line because they are on a budget.
In short, these people do not understand or appreciate what experienced lawyers know. They want to do things their way, have an attorney sign off on their work, and pay only a small fee for the work. Of course, if something goes wrong, they will be quick to call a malpractice attorney and blame the attorney for “her” work product.
There will be clients who will go the extra mile to save a buck. While attorneys generally like clients who take an active interest in their case, if they are doing it to save money, and not to help the attorney, it may end up frustrating the attorney-client relationship and even hurting the client.
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 [email protected] and via Twitter: @ShanonAchimalbe.
