The Lingering Bitterness of Undercharging…
I’ve written before about the need for lawyers to be able to charge less while still making a living.
But every now and then I regret practicing what I preach…
Without going into too much detail, yesterday I resolved a case involving one of my business clients. When they hired me awhile back I thought they had a horrible case — on the hook for $51,000+ with an unconvincing defense. So I quoted a low flat fee rather than charging by the hour or some other arrangement.
Well a month or so in, I discovered a key piece of evidence for the Plaintiff wasn’t what the Plaintiff thought it was. And yesterday (after more than a year of working on it) everything got settled.
Final price tag: $3,000
Client savings: $48,000
My fee: $750 
I’m thrilled for my client’s 6,300% return on their investment, but I really wish I had charged more now…
Yeah, but weren’t they one of your very first clients? At the time you didn’t have the wallet padding to back a higher fee…if they had turned around due to a steep asking price, you wouldn’t have seen the $750. You were a major blessing to them for sure, though. And hopefully they’ll refer business your way.