If you need help, don’t have an attitude
I am always amazed how people who feel that they have some sense of entitlement or feel that they have a strong case or feel that you have DUTY and RESPONSIBILITY to help them tend to communicate these feelings in an aggressive manner.
In other words, I’m always amazed by people who are asking for help will get an ‘attitude’ when you don’t jump up and pay attention.
I know these words may seem over simplified and PLEASE don’t think that I am trying to insult ANYONE’s intelligence. However, you have to keep things in their proper perspective. When you are trying to ask someone to help you with a matter or situation that needs to be resolved, the last thing you want to do is walk into their office or their space and ACT like they need to ‘buck up and step right’!
Some of you may still be confused about what I am talking when I’m saying these things. Let me take it a step further. Anytime you are dealing with people who are providing professional services, you have to remember that they are professionals and they are offering to provide a service.
Remember, this is just an OFFER! They don’t HAVE to serve you. It really doesn’t help your situation or your case to walk around with your lip poked out or your chest poked out think that you are entitled to receive a certain amount of treatment or service just because YOU demand it.
Now, don’t get all bent of shape. I’m not saying that if you have a great case that you should be humble or that you should be shy. What I am saying is that you gotta be careful going into a meeting or discussion with a professional (like a doctor, mechanic, or attorney) and have this chip on your shoulder.
And for those of you who still may not understand why some professionals may not like to deal with an attitude, here are a few other things to consider:
1) If you got attitude now and you are ASKING for help, what makes you think you want have MORE attitude later. Think about it. Here you are asking for help and you got ALLLLLL kind of mouth! When you step to someone like that, there is no reason to believe it won’t get worse.
2) Life is filled with stress already so why should YOU add to it? I work with people all the time who are devastated by their financial situation. So I understand how stressful life can be. In all instances, I reiterate to people that I am THERE for them so they understand that I am a part of the solution and not the problem. However, some professionals have a lot of stress to deal with it and if YOU are going to add to that stress, then why should they bother?
3) You MIGHT be a NIGHTMARE! Sometimes, when you complain a lot or have an attitude about everything, this sends a HUGE message to the professional that you may have some unrealistic expectations about what you expect to have happen. As a result, this may be a problem because if you have it in your mind of what YOU expect to have happen (despite what is being told to you), you may make things more difficult for those who are trying to help you.
4) Just because I have a suit on doesn’t mean I am SOFT! Sometimes, we get into these positions where we believe that individuals who provide us services are weak. As a result, we feel the need to exert our influence on them to let them know that we will not be denied. However, don’t EVER think in your mind that just because someone is polite and articulate and has a suit that they can’t get JIGGY!! I knew an attorney who cussed someone out who was repeatedly rude to her despite her best efforts. After several visits, she clicked and he learned very fast that she was much more aggressive than he thought she was.
Now, I am not going to sit around here and act like I have never had an attitude about something. I have walked around with the hoochie and gotten live with people on more occasions than I probably should have. However, after almost 8 years of practicing law, I realize that you really get more out of people when you are kind as opposed to kinding being rude. Remember, if you don’t want anyone coming at you with attitude, what makes you think that they want attitude?
How does this RETAINER thing work?
I can’t tell you the amount of times people look at me with a weird look in their eye when I inform them about a retainer for my services. I have a feeling that most people are educated about how an attorney gets paid through TV ads that usually see “We don’t get paid a dime unless we win the case for you!”
Those cases (Where they don’t get paid a dime unless they win the case) are called contingency fee cases. However, a great deal of cases are paid on a retainer fee arrangement.
Here’s how RETAINERS work. When you have a legal problem (like a criminal law, tax law, family law, corporate law, or intellectual property to name a few) that needs to be addressed, some attorneys will not take the case unless you pay them a retainer upfront. The retainer is usually the attorney’s hourly rate times the number of hours the attorney anticipates that they will need to satisfy their desired goal. It’s important to understand that the more complicated the case, the more hours it will probably take, and the more expensive it will be.
If the case is in court, it can become more expensive because the attorney will have to file motions, appear in court, make arguments (both oral and written), conduct discovery, attend / prepare for mediation, and go to court.
Here’s a few things that you, also, need to be aware:
1) When the attorney is working on YOUR case, they are not working on anyone else’s. Keep in mind. If they are preparing a brief or arguments, they are WORKING on your case, so it’s important that they have funds to draw from regarding your account.
2) Some attorneys won’t go for the payment plan. Sometimes, people don’t understand how much time and effort that goes into working on someone’s case. An attorney can rack up alot of hours very fast on a case. And let’s be real. If you know you owe your attorney a $1000 but you need to keep the lights on, guess where your $1000 is going to go???
3) It’s never personal. It’s always business. I’ve known many firms who have either stopped or withdrawn from cases where the client either hasn’t paid in a while or just stopped paying. Some people think that an attorney is bound to stay in a case even if they are not paying. Most State Bars will not let an attorney get out of a case if it is to the detriment of the client. However, if there is enough time, they will allow them to withdraw if necessary. In addition, some retainer agreements have liens that can placed on your property. The attorney wants to make sure they get paid.
Just remember this, if you have a situation that requires the use of an attorney, just be prepared to pay a few thousand dollars if it’s not a case that can be paid through contingency. This way you won’t have the “OOOOOO” or “AAAAAAAAA” look on your face when they slap that RETAINER hammer on you!
The Points and Pitfalls of Paying for Legal Services
I know you’ve the seen the commercials:
“We won’t get a DIME unless we win the case for you!”
You see it all the time and you know what it means. If you are injured in an accident or are injured on the job, you probably will have seen some commercial on the TV that talks about “NO FEES” unless the attorney wins the case.
In most situations, this payment arrangement for a personal injury or workers compensation case is correct. The PROBLEM is that most people THINK that this mechanism for payment is applicable to ALL types of legal cases! Sorry, folks, that simply is NOT true!
Here’s a few POINTS for you who are trying to figure out how to find out if you are going to have to pay for legal services:
1) PRO BONO – i.e. FREE!! Most states have either a requirement or a courtesy requirement that attorneys provide pro bono work. Pro Bono work is usually dictated by the type of case and the financial situation of the client. This situation is best becausd literally, it costs you nothing!
2) CONTINGENCY – these cases are those that are taken based on the notion that you attorneys getting paid their fees are CONTINGENT on their ability to win the case. States vary but these cases are typically common for Personal Injury, Products Liability, Social Security, Workers’ Compensation, and Medical Malpractice, to name a few. The reason these type of case are typically CONTINGENT FEE cases is that these case usually take a while to develop and they usually offer a large payout at the end. In addition, the attorneys who take these cases are taking a RISK that they will win the case. As such, the attorneys typically put money in the case on the front end of the case to develop it with the hope they will get their payment (usually based on some statutorily or legally defined percentage arrangement).
3) BILLABLE HOURS / RETAINER FEE – Most cases usually fall into these categories. When an attorney is asking you to pay a retainer fee, she knows that she’s going to be spending time to adequately your case so this fee will allow her to have a pot of money to POOL from when she’s doing the work. The attorney typically recognizes that they may need you to pay additional monies along the way to ensure that they are working at their billable hour rates. Put simply, these cases are cases where you are asking the attorney to do something for you and the attorney wants payment for the work you’re wanting them to do.
Now, there are variations of these different situations (i.e. partial retainer, partial contingency) and each state differs but these are some things that may be useful to you before you shop for an attorney.
Now, here’s some PITFALLS that tend to throw people off:
1) There are SOME cases that CAN NOT be a contingency fee. In Florida, Criminal Cases and Family Cases can NOT be contingency. For one, courts don’t want attorneys jacking up the monies that can be obtained in Family law cases in order to increase their fees. In Criminal, quite frankly, you’re fighting to preserve the liberties of an individual so there is no FEE to obtained.
2) If you call, the clock runs! People, if you are paying a retainer fee, anytime you call, you will be charged! So many times, people think that attorneys give COURTESY services and get offended when they see that they have been charged for the calls. Listen, you don’t call your doctor to shoot the breeze and if you talk about medicals, they are GOING To make you come in to the office. Well, legal services are the same way. You didn’t HIRE a friend. You HIRED an attorney!
3) You can’t expect to fight a forest fire and only pay for a shot glass of water! So many times, people find themselves FIRED up to want to fight someone based on some injustice. Now, outside of the contingency fee arrangement, you may have to pay for legal services to accomplish this goal. Now, if you have a really complicated case that is going to take a lot of time and energy, you can’t expect a law firm to provide you services just because this is a great opportunity to take down a giant. Attorneys are fighting giants every day so if you want to go ‘toe to toe’ with a big dog, you better be prepared to pay ‘BIG DOG” money to hire them if they require it.
4) Attorneys love a good fight but they gotta feed their family, too! I can’t tell you how many times people pause when I tell them what I charge. Here they are with this lengthy break down of how they have been tried and all this injustice and how they want to drag the other person or company into court and make them fight for every dollar! Then, when you tell them the charge, you hear “I have to pay?” or “I have to pay now?” or “Can you get the case started and I’ll get you on a payment plan?”. Trust me, attorneys can tell you stories about the number of clients who have “stopped paying” or “walked away” or “switched out” in the middle of their case because they didn’t have the money or never intended to pay the money. Attorneys are business people, too. Don’t get me wrong. Most attorneys don’t mind a good fight but let’s be real! You can catch a beat down on the street corner for free. Why go into court and get beat up for free.
5) There is nothing wrong with searching for different attorneys but still be prepared to PAY!! The ultimate issue most people face is that they don’t understand that in the long run, it’s better to come prepared to pay SOMETHING than it is to ‘roll the dice’ and hope that the attorney will take the case on faith. Even if it’s a certain amount of money as down payment, the attorney you’re dealing with will look at you infinitely more favorably if they know that money is going to come as opposed to looking for a hook up.
Paying for legal services is just like anything else. Every state is different but just remember, you get what you pay for and it’s important to know in the beginning what you MAY have to pay so if you need to walk away, you can do so before you waste anyone’s time.
