Insist on professional fees

The professional fees of a legal practitioner is a fixed charge a client pays for services rendered by a lawyer, its likened to buying tomatoes, oranges or books over the counter, just that in the case of a lawyer, services rendered are intangible. The fees lawyers charge clients depend on various factors; the amount of […]

The professional fees of a legal practitioner is a fixed charge a client pays for services rendered by a lawyer, its likened to buying tomatoes, oranges or books over the counter, just that in the case of a lawyer, services rendered are intangible. The fees lawyers charge clients depend on various factors; the amount of time it will take to solve the problem, a lawyers ability, experience, reputation, novelty and difficulty of the case, results obtained and cost involved, this also varies from lawyer to lawyer depending on expertise, seniority, location and urgency.
The issue of money has a way of dampening relationship between lawyers and client, but truth be said, good representation comes with a price and it is the duty of a young lawyer, before offering services, to explain to the client what is involved: don’t assume the clients know. There are clients who orchestrate a case because of close ties with a lawyer: take for example a client who wanted to sue because his license plate number was seized by an appropriate authority while on duty, even after been advised on the futility of such course of action, he persisted on going to trial but when told how much it would cost for litigation of the sort from start to finish, he backed down.
Some clients are eager for trials but do not have the means to foot the bills, yet they want a lawyer. A young wig must be wary of such clients or face the consequence of having too much on his plate with nothing to show for – wasting precious legal time doing things of insignificant effect instead of something productive. Please do not get me wrong, while pro-bono is one requirement for attaining Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) some 15 or so years from now, a young wig who finds it difficult to provide for his imminent needs should avoid such a turbulent voyage at this point in time.
Friends and neighbours would always bring a case for young wigs to attend to, don’t be too quick to offer free legal advice, “as much as law is a profession it is also a business”, charge for what you sell, it takes time, effort and expertise to solve a problem, why do it for free?
Was having a discussion with a young wig in court who feels “a case is not always about the money but passion for the law”, while I admire his spirit and agree to a certain extent, I believe young wigs must utilise every opportunity that presents itself to earn professional fees.
There are different ways of charging clients; appearance fee, consultation fee, retainer fee, contingency fee, hourly rate, flat fees et al, it is imperative that a young wig makes arrangements with a client at the earliest possible time on a payment package that best suits his practice style and goals. A young lawyer cannot start charging consultation fee or hourly rate at this early stage of practice, that’s financial suicide.
Imagine a super market owned by a family friend on the street you reside, despite the fact that you witnessed the opening of the super market and saw it grow, does not give one the right to go there and collect things for free, the best that can be given is credit facility but money must change hands for every goods bought in the super market no matter the close ties with the owner, why should the legal profession be any different?
The legal skill and services rendered by a lawyer is likened to any product on a stand or counter which took years of training and discipline to accomplish. The fact that it cannot be seen or touched does not mean it should be taken for granted, lives are saved due to his skills and likewise, properties are destroyed because of lack of it.
Insist on professional fees for the good of both the practice and satisfaction of the client.

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