http://soloinchicago.com/350/the-flat-fee-debate-continues/ Down-To-Earth Advice for Legal Entrepreneurs in Chicagoland and Around the World! Tue, 31 Aug 2010 20:13:51 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 http://soloinchicago.com/350/the-flat-fee-debate-continues/comment-page-1/#comment-144 Chuck Tue, 20 Nov 2007 21:37:00 +0000 http://soloinchicago.com/?p=350#comment-144 Not in a family law matter, I have had an attorney not live up to his word, or the word of his client when not putting it in writing immediately. I try to avoid doing such things myself. For example, I always ask my clients if they are certain that is what they want to do, because I will not back out later. Most attorneys you can trust. Some not. But, it does go back to that flat fee issue. I am not a fan of it. I fully understand the argument from the client's perspective. I am not sure I will ever understand the argument from the lawyer's perspective. You cannot have so much uncertainty in a case and operate on any type of flat fee. It can be destructive to making a living. This is not to say it does not work in certain transactional situations, such as some real estate matters, but litigation it should be avoided. Not in a family law matter, I have had an attorney not live up to his word, or the word of his client when not putting it in writing immediately. I try to avoid doing such things myself. For example, I always ask my clients if they are certain that is what they want to do, because I will not back out later. Most attorneys you can trust. Some not. But, it does go back to that flat fee issue. I am not a fan of it. I fully understand the argument from the client’s perspective. I am not sure I will ever understand the argument from the lawyer’s perspective. You cannot have so much uncertainty in a case and operate on any type of flat fee. It can be destructive to making a living. This is not to say it does not work in certain transactional situations, such as some real estate matters, but litigation it should be avoided.

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