A lawyer is there to advise and defend his clients, but he does not generally do this free of charge (except in the case of pro bono and legal aid to a certain extent).
Fees remain an important topic for him, and we will look into the issue of unpaid fees.
The importance of unpaid debts for lawyers
In the first two parts of our file on fees, we insisted on:
- • the need to establish a thoughtful price scale based on elements important to you (time spent, costs incurred, degree of specialization, etc.);
- • the interest in effective communication of these fees to a public who needs to understand before committing.
However, just because a client understands your fees does not mean they are not at risk of defaulting.
For lawyers, unpaid debts, although they do not represent the majority of their files, remain significant.
At the question :
“Out of 10 clients, how many do you have to follow up on to pay your fees?”
The response from the lawyers (sample of 100 people) is eloquent:
A little more than 4 out of 10 customers need to be contacted* at least once before they proceed to pay the fees owed to the lawyer.
What is the procedure to follow when reminders follow one another and do not result in a rapid settlement?
And above all, how to make it so that from 4 relaunched clients, you go to 2 or even just one?
* Survey results: 4.28 clients out of 10 must be contacted for payment of fees (sample of 100 lawyers)
How to contact the President of the President regarding the setting of fees?
When a client does not pay the fees he owes you, you can contact the President of the Bar Association. Two means are at your disposal:
- • by post by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt;
- • delivered by hand against receipt (at the service reception).
This referral to the President of the Bar must include several elements to be admissible: the client's contact details, a kbis extract less than 3 months old if it is a legal entity, the diligence sheet, a copy of the invoices addressed to the client as well as that a formal notice
Your file will be processed within 4 months, renewable once, upon receipt of the referral by the fee setting department.
This is the last solution, to be put in place only if the dialogue with your client has broken down or they have explicitly made you understand that they will not pay your fees.
Beforehand, you can implement a simple solution that can help you reduce your unpaid debts.
The ideal solution?
Which tool allows you to solve these three problems simply and simultaneously in order to reduce your share of unpaid fees?
As a lawyer, you do not necessarily want to invest in a bank payment terminal which may incur installation and maintenance costs.
Furthermore, your client may also not be able to come to your office to pay your fees and prefers to do it directly from their sofa.
You can then proceed to online payment of your fees. Simple and effective, this method has three main advantages:
- • offer litigants a modern way to pay your fees : as we saw previously, fewer and fewer French people use checks, while 61% of them favor the credit card.
By switching to online payment of your fees, you will respond to increasingly strong demand from your clients.
- • be able to follow up with your customers in a simple way : you just need to have the amount of your fees as well as your client's email address.
By using the online payment platform made available to you on my-lawyer.fr, you will be able to send an email to your client in just a few clicks so that they can pay your fees directly by credit card.
- • offer your clients the splitting of your fees : you decide the amount to be paid each month (for example), in consultation with your client if necessary in order to reduce your share of unpaid fees as much as possible. Indeed, a litigant who has difficulty paying your fees will try to do so within his means if you show flexibility.
Although this approach does not guarantee immediate payment of your fees, it has the merit of facilitating your reminders as well as your client's procedures.
And you, how do you manage your fees and their payment?
Are you flexible with your customers?
Don't hesitate to give us your opinion in the comments.
