ANN ARBOR, Mich. — During the course of running your coin laundry business, you may find yourself in need of legal services. Your lawyer may not automatically tell you everything you need to know about these services, and if you don’t ask questions, you may be in for some surprises.
There are 10 things your lawyer may not tell you—unless you ask. Here are No. 6 through 10:
6. “FIGHTING FOR A PRINCIPLE IS EXPENSIVE.”
If your chances of getting any real money in a lawsuit are somewhere between zip and zero, you’d like to know in advance—long before you sink thousands of dollars into a lawsuit.
Sure, you’d like to get even with the scoundrel who scammed your business, but it may cost you a bundle to duke it out in court—and you may still wind up empty-handed.
Ideally, your lawyer will give you a frank assessment of your odds of winning, your odds of collecting, and how much all of this will cost you. Sometimes the best advice is to put the matter behind you and forget about suing.
Some lawyers, however, may not level with you at first—perhaps out of fear that they’ll rile you if they suggest that maybe you don’t have such a great case. To get a straight story, you may need to ask the lawyer for brutally honest answers.
7. “I DON’T LIKE THIS KIND OF WORK.”
A lawyer who enjoys drafting corporate documents may abhor appearing at zoning hearings. A lawyer who likes to litigate may not like to take a matter to mediation.
You need a lawyer with a zest for your type of legal work. Someone who finds a certain kind of work distasteful may just go through the motions—not comforting when you need someone to aggressively champion your legal position.
But lawyers may be reluctant to refer you to someone else. They worry that if they do, they may never see you again. You can tactfully raise the subject by asking, “Is this really your cup of tea? Do you like doing this type of work?”
If you detect something less than enthusiasm in the lawyer’s response, follow up with, “Who in town specializes in these matters?”
8. “I’LL DO THIS FOR A FLAT FEE.”
Most lawyers do most work for an hourly basis—but would be willing to do particular tasks for a flat fee. Trouble is, they may not volunteer this information. They worry that clients may take advantage of a flat fee by making endless demands on their time.
Still, they may be willing to draft a business document or attend a meeting at City Hall for a flat fee. If you don’t ask, you’ll never know.
9. “I BILL IN QUARTER-HOUR INCREMENTS.”
That five-minute phone call to your lawyer may cost you $75. Why? Because your $300-an-hour lawyer bills in increments of 15 minutes. That’s something you need to know and discuss in advance.
Billing is not a precise art, but increments of five or six minutes seem much more reasonable than quarter-hour segments.
To avoid getting burned, ask about the units the lawyer uses in billing. Maybe you’ll decide not to call the lawyer’s office quite as often.
10. “I STOPPED LEARNING THE DAY I LEFT LAW SCHOOL.”
Some states don’t require lawyers to continue their education once they pass the bar—which means that a lazy lawyer may not be up-to-date on the latest legal changes.
A lawyer who ignores legal seminars or doesn’t read professional journals isn’t likely to brag about it. You may not find out until it’s too late that your lawyer was less than sharp on a crucial legal point.
Here’s where learning a lawyer’s reputation comes in handy. A lawyer who is highly regarded by other lawyers in your community is probably doing his or her homework.
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Bruce Beggs at [email protected].