Follow Blog via RSS
Author Archives: The Legal Reformer
Holiday Rate Increases
Ah, the holidays, full of festivities, lots of cheer, good will . . . and a letter from your attorneys advising you of their New Year rate increases . . . or in many cases, higher rates in the new … Continue reading
Posted in Billing
Tagged Association of Corporate Counsel, Holiday, Law Firm, New Year, Rate Increase, Retainer Agreement, Susan Hackett, Value
Leave a comment
Legal Consumer Tip #5 – Evaluating Settlement Issues
In September 2012, we blogged about a Colorado jury’s $2 million verdict against a law firm that pressured a client to settle a contingency fee case for less than it was worth. In that post, we noted that settlement comes … Continue reading
Posted in Tips
Tagged Advice, Conflict of Interest, Legal Consumer, Litigation, Second Opinion, Settlement
Leave a comment
Thankful on Thanksgiving
LPR is closed this Thanksgiving week, but we wanted to take this opportunity to thank all attorneys who provide respectful and competent services at a fair and reasonable fee and all legal consumers who expect no less. Working together to … Continue reading
Education – The Path to Fair Fees
The ABA Journal posted an article on Wednesday titled Firms Wave Goodbye to Billing for Research Costs by Rachael M. Zahorsky. Ms. Zahorsky reports that law firms increasingly are taking legal research costs off of client invoices: With clients increasingly primed to … Continue reading
Posted in Billing
Tagged ABA Journal, Bloomberg Law, Legal research, Mattern & Associates, Westlaw
Leave a comment
“Reality Check for Law Firms” – A Panel Discussion
Last week, Legal Marketing Association held a panel discussion entitled “Reality Check for Law Firms,” during which in-house counsel from MetLife, Elizabeth Arden Inc., and Coby Electronics Corporation “dished on the good, the bad, and the ugly of doing business … Continue reading
New Federal Agency CFPB to Oversee Debt Collectors — Including Lawyers and Law Firms
The Washington Post reported on October 23, 2012 that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a new federal “watchdog agency,” will be overseeing debt collection firms with receipts of more than $10 million, and that the collection firms overseen will include lawyers … Continue reading
Are State Bar Grievance Committees “Good Ol’ Boy Systems”?
Every practicing attorney in the U.S. is licensed by one or more state bar associations, and those licensing entities have grievance committees that address ethics complaints filed against attorneys they license. What many legal consumers may not know is that … Continue reading
Posted in Reform
Tagged Attorney Misconduct, Attorneys, Disciplinary Action, Disciplinary Complaint, HALT, Legal Consumer, Legal Ethics, News
Leave a comment
Reasons Big Corporations Fire Law Firms – Consumers and Law Firms Take Note
Aric Press of The American Lawyer recently reported on a survey released by Acritas, a U.K.–based market research firm, detailing the reasons thousands of blue-chip corporations have fired their outside law firms. Acritas cited four recurring reasons: too expensive (21 … Continue reading
Posted in Reform
Tagged Attorneys, Client-Side Manner, Clients, Conflict of Interest, Fee Disputes, Over Billing, Work Ethic
Leave a comment
$220K in Legal Fees to Fight 11-Year $2K Dispute!
Does $222,000 sound like an unbelievable amount to spend on legal fees to fight a homeowner’s association’s lawsuit over a $2,212 bill for lawn re-sodding? That’s exactly what happened to a retired Tampa, Florida couple when they refused to pay the total … Continue reading
thelegalreformer 