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[Truean]

Graduating from Law School, there are no jobs. I was wondering about this if I did start one and I'm not sure about it.

[Lord Shonus]

Find out the rates of your competitors. Charge less. I recommend you cover court costs, however.

[Darvi]

Major Criminal Offense: $3500 +150/hour if more than 100 hours spent on it

Rewrite this, nobody wants to pay 18500$. Or do they? The point is, it should be

"3500$+150$ beyond the 100th" or something.

To clarify:
100 hours:3500$
101hours: 3500+101*150=18650$

Huge difference there.

[Truean]

Well, here's the issue with that.... Court costs are an additional expense to me and can sometimes be hundreds of dollars and in criminal cases... .yeah.... If I covered them, I'd just raise my fees to get the cost.

I know court costs suck, but there's really no way out of them. No one is going to pay them for you.

[Truean]

Major Criminal Offense: $3500 +150/hour if more than 100 hours spent on it

Rewrite this, nobody wants to pay 18500$. Or do they? The point is, it should be

"3500$+150$ beyond the 100th" or something.

To clarify:
100 hours:3500$
101hours: 3500+101*150=18650$

I appreciate the input.

[Lord Shonus]

Well, here's the issue with that.... Court costs are an additional expense to me and can sometimes be hundreds of dollars and in criminal cases... .yeah.... If I covered them, I'd just raise my fees to get the cost.

I know court costs suck, but there's really no way out of them. No one is going to pay them for you.

Funny thing is that a lot of people would rather pay you more than cover the costs themselves, because it superficially seems like a better value.

[Darvi]

Well, here's the issue with that.... Court costs are an additional expense to me and can sometimes be hundreds of dollars and in criminal cases... .yeah.... If I covered them, I'd just raise my fees to get the cost.

I know court costs suck, but there's really no way out of them. No one is going to pay them for you.

Funny thing is that a lot of people would rather pay you more than cover the costs themselves, because it superficially seems like a better value.

Well that's people for you.

Major Criminal Offense: $3500 +150/hour if more than 100 hours spent on it

Rewrite this, nobody wants to pay 18500$. Or do they? The point is, it should be

"3500$+150$ beyond the 100th" or something.

To clarify:
100 hours:3500$
101hours: 3500+101*150=18650$

[nods] $3500 for the first 100 hours, then $150 / hour after that.

Yeah that's what I meant. Was kinda ambiguous before.

[Truean]

Well, here's the issue with that.... Court costs are an additional expense to me and can sometimes be hundreds of dollars and in criminal cases... .yeah.... If I covered them, I'd just raise my fees to get the cost.

I know court costs suck, but there's really no way out of them. No one is going to pay them for you.

Funny thing is that a lot of people would rather pay you more than cover the costs themselves, because it superficially seems like a better value.

Here's another problem, people already look at this as a consumer transaction and are just pissed to be in court and don't care as it is. They often get mad at ME for what THEY ultimately did. Having the court charge them drives it home a little and takes a little of that off me. The issue is:

"I want [insert completely unreasonable demand here]."

Well, ok you didn't wanna be arrested, arraigned, tossed in a cell, and threatened with prison (not jail) time, but all that happened.... I'm here to get the best I can for you within the limits of the law. It's not about what you want, it's about what you can get at this point.

My boss charged a guy $6,000 to represent him in a grand theft auto case. Plea deal, 5 years probation. Absolutely astonishing result, no jailtime. Dude didn't wanna pay because it "only took us three days...."
So let me get this straight, I handled it too quickly, quietly, and without jailtime?  . Did I mention he absolutely did it? Because he did....
Now I'm gonna assume collection on courtcosts too?

[Darvi]

They make unreasonable demands and refuse to compensate? Sounds like 40d nobles to me. I say you drown them in magma! Wait, this is real life.

Ah well, if they don't want to listen, just charge them anyway and ignore them. What are they gonna do, sue you?

[Truean]

They make unreasonable demands and refuse to compensate? Sounds like 40d nobles to me. I say you drown them in magma! Wait, this is real life.

Ah well, if they don't want to listen, just charge them anyway and ignore them. What are they gonna do, sue you?

You'd be surprised how often this happens to my boss after they are set free....

[Falc]

Be careful about undercutting your competition.

First of all, it might seem to them to be unfair competition. In and of itself that might not affect you at all, but maybe some day, you're gonna need a favor from someone and this'll come back to bite you.

Also, be aware of what message it sends out, or perhaps more accurately, how others might interpret this. You're so cheap because your reputation is bad and you can't get any work otherwise. You're so cheap because you don't think your time is as valuable as that of a proper lawyer.

No matter what people might think of lawyers in general, there's one thing they'll tend to agree on: the best lawyers get paid the most. Being the cheapest lawyer in town is not a good thing.

Unless you can give another (apparently) valid reason for having such low fees. Some part of the standard 'lawyer' package that you won't be giving people that allows you to have less costs, which you pass on to your clients. Like, I don't know, for example, not having a proper office. Tell people how computers and the net allow you to be more efficient on the road the whole day, so you don't need an office and all the costs it entails. Of course, it also means that they can't send you snail mail, unless it goes to your home and then you won't read it until the evening. But any client who doesn't need to send you anything or who doesn't care about the delays will come to you because you're cheaper.

Give a good reason why you're cheaper, or people will assume the worst possible reason: that you're actually no good.

Oh, and the reason you give doesn't actually have to be true, it just needs to be plausible.

[Lord Shonus]

Good advertising can help a lot with that. Point out, for example, your Spartan office and low staff as compared to your competitors.

[Truean]

Be careful about undercutting your competition.

First of all, it might seem to them to be unfair competition. In and of itself that might not affect you at all, but maybe some day, you're gonna need a favor from someone and this'll come back to bite you.

Also, be aware of what message it sends out, or perhaps more accurately, how others might interpret this. You're so cheap because your reputation is bad and you can't get any work otherwise. You're so cheap because you don't think your time is as valuable as that of a proper lawyer.

No matter what people might think of lawyers in general, there's one thing they'll tend to agree on: the best lawyers get paid the most. Being the cheapest lawyer in town is not a good thing.

Unless you can give another (apparently) valid reason for having such low fees. Some part of the standard 'lawyer' package that you won't be giving people that allows you to have less costs, which you pass on to your clients. Like, I don't know, for example, not having a proper office. Tell people how computers and the net allow you to be more efficient on the road the whole day, so you don't need an office and all the costs it entails. Of course, it also means that they can't send you snail mail, unless it goes to your home and then you won't read it until the evening. But any client who doesn't need to send you anything or who doesn't care about the delays will come to you because you're cheaper.

Give a good reason why you're cheaper, or people will assume the worst possible reason: that you're actually no good.

Oh, and the reason you give doesn't actually have to be true, it just needs to be plausible.

Good point. I've already been looked at badly by some lawyers just for existing as "competition" even though I'm not.

[nenjin]

Listening to worthless law firm bureaucrats tell me that I need to wear straight black with no pinstripes instead of a charcoal color suit? No thank you.

You'll never make it in this high-stakes world of criminal law. Pinstripes say you're dynamic, *BAM*, always on the move, so fast the prosecutors won't even know what your name is. Look left, now back again. You're not even there. Pinstripes help you blend into the crowd, a litigating black mamba in a sea of money. You're a legal fucking ninja, leaving mangled precedent and weeping prosecutors in your wake. They won't have to call a mistrial because the judge will be too busy wanting to know which of your offspring are available for breeding.

In a charcoal suit, you're just a lawyer. Pfuh. Who wants *just* a lawyer.*

*obligatory sarcasm tag for the comprehension impaired

[Truean]

Listening to worthless law firm bureaucrats tell me that I need to wear straight black with no pinstripes instead of a charcoal color suit? No thank you.

You'll never make it in this high-stakes world of criminal law. Pinstripes say you're dynamic, *BAM*, always on the move, so fast the prosecutors won't even know what your name is. Look left, now back again. You're not even there. Pinstripes help you blend into the crowd, a litigating black mamba in a sea of money. You're a legal fucking ninja, leaving mangled precedent and weeping prosecutors in your wake. They won't have to call a mistrial because the judge will be too busy wanting to know which of your offspring are available for breeding.

In a charcoal suit, you're just a lawyer. Pfuh. Who wants *just* a lawyer.*

*obligatory sarcasm tag for the comprehension impaired

Honestly though, there are people literally telling you what underwear to wear anymore:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/15/ubs-has-a-43page-dress-co_n_797245.html.
Apparently you are supposed to wear nude colored....