6May

Lawyers’ secret gold-mine

By Tomasz Stasiuk, May 6th, 2009 | Lawyers/Attorneys | 4 Comments

The BIGGEST charge is most law offices

Meet the most expensive “associate” in most law firms. More expensive than a regular lawyer. More expensive than the named partner. It’s … the photocopier.

I was recently reviewing the charges for a one of my clients who was previously represented by a national law firm. Do you know how much they were charging for copies? .35 cents a page!

That’s not all! Here is their price sheet:

$0.35 per page for photocopies

$1.00 per page for faxes

$2.50 per long distance phone call

This adds up fast! In many law offices, the photocopier earns more per hour for the firm than the lawyers!

Next time you talk to a lawyer, do not just ask about fees, ask about the expenses!

How much will you charge me for copies?
How much will you charge me for faxes?
How much will you charge me for long distances calls?
What other expenses will I have to pay?
What are the average expenses in a case like this.
And, here is the big question, what is the maximum I might have to pay?

Many lawyers will set a cap on the expenses and if they cannot charge you more than the cap without your prior approval. This prevents run-away, surprise charges at the end of the case.

Since going digital (“paperless”), I have done away with a lot of these charges which make clients feel like they are being nickel and dime-ed. Here are my standard charges:

$0 for copies

$0 for faxes

$0 for long distance telephone calls

$0 for postage

Yes, these things cost my office some money, but so far my clients have not abused my goodwill, so I do not charge them for these services.

99% of the time, I just ask my clients to pay for the cost of their medical records. And, if my clients can get their records on their own, there may be no extra charges.

How about you? What kinds of things is your lawyer charging you for?

Tomasz Stasiuk is the founding attorney of the Stasiuk Firm - a law firm devoted to exclusively handling Social Security disability cases in Colorado. Contingent fees available.

frankharrison

I was charged 25 cents for a paper clip by a Calif. attorney. Needless to say, I did not pay it. The attorney lost the postage on 3 mailings before it was stopped. I was hoping that he would take me to court so that it would come out into the open.

Frank H.
frankharrison

I was charged 25 cents for a paper clip by a Calif. attorney. Needless to say, I did not pay it. The attorney lost the postage on 3 mailings before it was stopped. I was hoping that he would take me to court so that it would come out into the open.

Frank H.
Anonymous

Well, here’s the thing – law firms had to provide these services in the old days. Clients, therefore, had to pay for them. Now that it’s all been reduced to bits and bytes the need for those charges has been obviated but law firms realize that if they ditch the copier then a profit center goes out as well. They need those nickels and dimes to keep profit on top of their administrative bloat.

As clients begin to rebel, law firms will be forced to evolve or die.
http://www.Planet10Tech.com TomaszStasiuk

Absolutely. However, I don’t think the onus should be on clients to rebel. Lawyers already get a bad rap. Nickel and diming clients (especially when those charges add up) leave a bad taste to clients who are already footing the bill for professional services.