Re: Unbundled Legal Services

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On 9/02/03, Steve wrote:

{edit}
>
> So whether the perception of the legal profession has been
unfairly
> devalued or whether it has heretofore been unrealistically
> overvalued, there are many lawyers complaining that they do not
> have enough clients, and there are many potential clients who
claim
> they cannot afford a lawyer. So the point at which supply equals
> demand (the equilibrium point) indicates a need for lower priced
> legal services for many.

I agree. Its a running joke that the average Attorney could not
afford to hire himself. I really think it is a problem of too many
attorneys with too high expectations. Its also a problem of Legal
Managment inefficiency.

However back to the topic of unbundled services. I read Mosten's
book too, and experimented with providing unbundled services. What
I found is that it just cannibalized my regular client work. The
clients who were willing to pay regular rates for unbundled works
were the same clients who would pay for full service. So there was
no net increase in business, but a net decrease in business. The
potential clients who couldn't afford full service could not afford
unbundled services either (or would not).

My guess, and its just that because I haven't mastered this "law
business" thing yet, is that instead of unbundling you could
accomplish the same effect by self-financing your work. Essentially
taking a smaller upfront retainer and then getting the client to
commit to a long-term monthy payment. The risk of course is that
the client will stop payment before you are paid for your services.
Maybe a collateral secured promissory note. You start running into
problems but its not impossible. Of course, like I've said in
other threads, if a client doesn't have a credit card to pay you,
they probably are not the best client to extend credit to.

Has anyone had success with unbundled services? What was the key?

Re: Unbundled Legal Services, 9/03/03, by rrr.

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