Photo Credit: Andrii Yalanskyi
A physician is planning on expanding his practice and anticipates significant legal costs. Dr. MedLaw provides advice on how to keep these costs under control.
When I set up my practice PC several years ago, I paid my lawyer a retainer for his estimated work and then got the balance billed at the end for “legal services rendered.” I’m planning to expand my parking area now, which will require a lot of legal work about zoning. How do I control the billing, which I expect to be significant?
The simplest way is to require monthly itemized bills, but very busy doctors want to avoid additional paperwork to review. They are used to a billing system for their work in which there can be many months between a payment claim and a received payment, often do not do so.
Starting with how the retainer is used and continuing to any balance after that, you want a listing each month of not just the hours worked but by whom since a junior associate or a paralegal bills at a lower rate than a senior partner, and that rate applies even if the partner heads the team.
The bill should also say what was specifically done. Vague terms like “research” and “meeting” do not inform you of where your money is going, as opposed to “Research on zoning law changes after 1985 township incorporation” or “Meeting with a surveyor to register forms.”
Knowing what tasks were carried out also helps you to know if the bill makes practical sense. If it suggests that a senior lawyer is making routine appearances or doing basic paperwork, then that should be questioned.
You also want to be informed of specific costs. Some, like filing fees, are fixed matters, but not every letter requires FedEx.
A monthly bill gives you the chance to air your concerns before an amorphous mega bill shows up.
Most importantly, you will have shown yourself to be a client to be reckoned with.
