On my mind today is a curiosity. As a solo practitioner with a focus on boutique estate planning I have to say 99% of my clients are amazing! I visit them in their homes where they serve me coffee & homemade banana bread or key lime pie. They come to my home office where we have seltzer. 😅
But that 1%…most don’t even make it to client status because I have gotten pretty good at intuiting who will be pleasant to work with. And one of the benefits of running your own shop is choosing who you want in your “sandbox” as my friend refers to it.
I am not sure why these folks feel they can expect free service from an attorney. It is unlikely they would visit their doctor or done in a restaurant or shop at the grocery and expect for it all to be zero cost. But somehow when it comes to a lawyer’s specialized services built on years of experience they expect something for nothing, balking at fees that have been presented up front and trying to argue that it really didn’t take that long or they could have done it themselves.
Is it because I am a female? Because I have my own firm? Because I do not keep office space and work on a mobile, virtual basis? Because I seem nice? …???
This is in sharp contrast to my other clients who ask to pay up front when I typically bill once the work is complete and thank me profusely.
The goal of my practice is to seek out those positive thinking, grateful clients who appreciate the hard work, attention to detail and professionalism I bring to the table, whether it is theirs or mine. And to all of them whom I’ve had the honor of serving, I am so grateful for YOU.
Notes From Real Life 