Flat (Fee) Out Of Luck
My old boss knew when I turned down a client, it was because we charged a flat rate, and there was no way that I could resolve their case at that price, and there would be nothing left on the bone.
Me: “Hey, just looked over the intake for the new case. I’d pass on this one.”
Boss: “The usual?”
Me: “The estimation is twenty hours, but I know it’s going to take triple that, minimum. The contract language is messy, and the client’s already gone through two firms. That’s two red flags before I even open discovery.”
Boss: “All good. You don’t need to always explain to me why you do this. I trust you.”
Cue the new boss. Within the first week of his joining, we got a case that I can tell is going to be a hot mess. I tell him so at intake, the usual things I see off the bat.
Me: “So, if those are there, it will be even worse as we peel back the onion.”
New Boss: “It’s not good to turn down clients.”
Me: “We’re not exactly scraping the bottom to find cases. I strongly recommend we pass.”
New Boss: “No. We’re not going to turn down cases.”
He accepted the case. A month later, I ended up getting fired. It was all okay, though. I was on my way out already, and would have quit about a week later anyway.
In that month, I had already put in forty hours putting out fires in that case, and the other lawyer who took it over likely had another two hundred hours. My new boss ended up with a bar complaint from the client, all for about six grand.
