Before starting Becker Law LLC, I worked as in-house counsel for Fortune 500 companies for many years. Much of my job was devoted to retaining, managing, and working with outside counsel as their “client”.
Given how smart and accomplished most of these outside counsel were—many of them graduates of the country’s best law schools—you would think my experiences with them would have been consistently excellent. Surprisingly, that wasn’t the case.
Lack of responsiveness, poorly written and needlessly wordy communications, and a general failure to keep me informed about the status of our matters were common. Worse still was a fundamental lack of understanding of our business and culture, coupled with exorbitant and unpredictable fees based on hourly billing.
Client Bill of Rights
Having been on the receiving end of such poor service from outside counsel, I’m committed to doing things differently in my own practice. My top priority is providing clients with the attentive service they expect and deserve, at a cost-effective price. As your attorney, I will:
- Learn about your business, so I can understand its organization, industry, and competitors
- Make myself aware of your business’s goals and objectives, so I can align my handling of your matter accordingly
- Never rush you through a consultation and make sure that all of your concerns are addressed
- Be accessible and responsive, returning phone calls and responding to emails within 24 business hours
- Keep you abreast of developments in your matter as they occur and provide monthly (or even more frequent) status updates
- Communicate clearly and concisely, without unnecessary legal jargon
- Provide business-oriented, custom-tailored advice and solutions, along with recommendations for proceeding
- Bill for services using a value-priced, flat-fee payment model—instead of hourly—whenever possible
- Offer competitive hourly rates where flat fees aren’t possible
At Becker Law LLC, we’re so confident in the quality of our legal services that we give clients a right to make an up or down “satisfaction adjustment” to their bill as follows:
- For On-Demand Services: within 30 days of completion of services.
- For Subscription Legal Plan Services: upon the earlier of one year from the start of your Subscription Legal Plan, or 30 days after your termination of your Subscription Legal Plan.
- For Services billed hourly: within 30 days of receiving your final bill.
Here’s how it works: if you don’t believe I’ve met my commitments in these Client Bill of Rights, send an email to sbecker@beckerlawllc.com within the time periods above, with the adjustment you want. If you’re an ongoing client, I’ll credit your next bill in the amount of the adjustment. If not, I’ll send you a check in the amount of the adjustment within 30 days of receiving your email. It’s that simple.
Want to learn more about Becker Law LLC and how we can help your business reach its legal goals? Complete our online contact form—or use the online appointment setter—to schedule an on-demand consultation session.