Imagine you hire a high-end law firm to handle a dispute for you.  The firm handles the matter to your satisfaction and, while the bill seems high, you willingly pay the fee.  Now imagine several months later you receive a check from the firm with a letter explaining that, after review of the closed matter, the firm discovered that you were overcharged.

Hard to believe?  

Well . . . this is a true story.

Receiving a refund of fees after challenging an attorney’s billing is one thing, but a firm that reviews billings from closed cases for possible overcharging, now that’s unique.  We suspect that a number of you are thinking:

I’d hire that firm!

For many clients, just the thought of approaching their attorneys to challenge the billings is stressful.  Will the attorney be insulted?  Will he/she retaliate or be passive-aggressive going forward?  Will he/she charge for discussing the billing issue?  The prospect seems daunting to many.

This legal consumer-friendly action is to be commended.  It would be great if all law firms engaged in this after-the-fact (or during-the-fact) billing review.  And, it would be even better if law firms, especially the large firms, had customer service departments to address client concerns about billings and other issues.  Approaching someone trained in customer services would surely be more welcoming and client-friendly.

Law firms big and small should take note.  A law firm that is honest enough to realize that sometimes clients are over billed, and that has the integrity to refund the overage, would be in great demand indeed.

You’ve got options.  The Center for Legal Practice Reform can help you navigate the attorney/client relationship and level the playing field.  Call LPR today for a free consultation – (301) 351-7970.