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Resolving Fee Disputes: It's in Your Best Interest, Too

By Patricia King 
November 01, 2019

It should come as no surprise that many grievances are filed by clients who started out questioning fees or costs charged in a case. It should also come as no surprise that some lawyers react to these questions in ways that only — and sometimes literally — invite the clients to file a grievance as a last resort in their quest to get their questions answered.

Before considerations of any particular circumstances, lawyers should know that they ignore clients with questions at their peril. The first thing to remember is the client is entitled to an accounting of the fee and costs. No matter how exasperating the client, or how stupid the question appears to be, client questions need to be resolved. Believe me, I know this is not easy.

Often the most challenging clients continue to buzz around our heads, even after the representation has been concluded by a result which, by any objective standard, would be at least reasonable. Often the result far exceeds reasonable. These are the clients we most want to wish into oblivion because we consider them to be ungrateful. But unless our wish list includes a grievance, we need to stop, get our frustrations under control and do what it takes to satisfy these clients.

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