A young lawyer named Eve called me today about a fee dispute. She had quoted an hourly rate without providing an estimate and had issued… Read More »Sometimes, I Just Don’t Care About The Client’s Damn Budget
“Estimating is what you do when you don’t know.” ~ Sherman Kent A young lawyer named Eve called me today. She had made the same… Read More »A Masterclass on Quoting Fees For Lawyers Who Bill by the Hour
Back in the good old days, I used to bill by the hour, just like every other lawyer. I had a simple retainer agreement with… Read More »My Journey To the Land of Setting Expectations
I once proposed raising our hourly rates and was met with furious resistance by the head of our litigation department who assured me that no… Read More »Stupid, Stupid, Stupid
The other day I heard a story about a furniture store in Toronto that was known to cater to the wealthy. The owner purchased an… Read More »In Defense of the Billable Hour
“Fools believe silence is a void needing to be filled; the wise understand there’s no such thing as silence.” Michael J. Sullivan, Age of Myth Client:… Read More »Silent Stupidity
Sometimes clients call lawyers and announce what their legal budget is for a proposed project. New lawyers sometimes struggle to handle the situation because the… Read More »The Client’s Damn Legal Budget
Some years ago I went off on a cruise and took the opportunity to have some renovations done at my house while I was away.… Read More »Paperwork, Practitioners and Panties
When I practised law in Mississauga, Ont., our fees were cheap compared to the Toronto firms, and kind of expensive compared to firms in places… Read More »Let’s play Jeopardy: I’ll take ‘Expert in Ottawa’ for $300
