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Unstressfully Yours

By:  Bryant H. Byrnes, Esq.
 

While I normally do not encourage complaints to counsel - or at least to me - there are circumstances when complaints are warranted.

 

We Who Serve.  While the larger the firm the more the practice of law is a business rather than a profession ("gotta meet that billable minimum"), small firm practice is very much predicated on personal relationships.  And like all relationships, there needs to be rules for solving problems.

 

Billing Errors.  Always, always it is OK to complain.  Many attorneys - including my office - use outside billing services to prepare its monthly billing statements.  This at times may inevitably result in errors; typos, payment incorrectly noted, duplicate charges, incorrect charges, etc. 

 

Should you have questions or concerns regarding your bills, of course call and inquire.  It is probably a simple mistake that can be easily corrected.  My office does not charge for these conversations.

 

Telephone Calls/Emails Not Returned.  Pursuant to The California State Bar Rules of Professional Conduct 3-500, attorneys shall keep a client reasonably informed about significant developments.

 

If your attorney - or someone at his office - does not return your calls and/or emails within a day (or even two), try again.  Sometimes he or she is buried in a project - and we also have personal lives with the inevitable crisis or two.

 

Lunch.  When to Charge?  When Not to Charge?  An attorney's "stock in trade" is his or her time and advice.  It is the equivalent of a contractor's use of "time and materials" basis.  Time spent consulting is time charged for.

 

So what happens when a social lunch turns into a work related discussion - or when an attorney is approached with legal questions at a social event?  Is it reasonable for an attorney to charge for the time spent? 

 

I have found myself in these situations over the years.  And while I think it is frequently billable time, what a hot button with clients!  Now, although I of course always pay rapt attention if the discussion is of substance I always ask for a follow up call at the office.  This way there's no question - it is important and it will be on the clock.  (Sometimes I don't get follow up calls.)

 

Work Not Requested (But Important Stuff).  This is also a hot button - and my personal pet peeve.  I feel an obligation to my regular clients to keep them informed of changes in the law that directly affect them.  Once in a great while I have sent information to these regular contractor clients informing them of highly and immediately relevant changes.

 

If I necessarily have spent substantial time researching, preparing, and transmitting this information (usually with forms and attachments), I feel it fair to charge a minimal fee. 

 

But when I first sent such a bill to my clients, I received several complaints - "Why was I charged for work I did not request?"  (And you know who you are.)  Because of this experience, I now include an "opt out" option in the letter for those who feel the information was irrelevant and/or already known.  If the client chooses to "opt out," then no charge will be applied. 

 

Previous Articles. For my previous articles, please visit SFBA NARI's website and click on the link "In the News/Newsletter" under "For the Trade."  They are also available on my website under "Articles."  As always, my discussions are summary in nature and intended to simply give you a heads up on various topics and issues.

 

Bryant H. Byrnes, Esq. practices construction law in the San Francisco Bay Area and is counsel to the SFBA NARI Board of Directors.  Questions?  His website is www.bryantbyrnes.com.  Feel free to contact Bryant by email at bhbatty@pacbell.net.