A Lawyer Unpaid is Justice Denied

I believe that lawyers are meant to be lawyers and not bankers, yet I talk to too many lawyers whose clients owe them significant sums of money. So why do we take on such financial risk in addition to the professional risks of representing a client?  It's because many lawyers feel uncomfortable talking about money with clients.  We often don't have a thorough discussion at the beginning of a legal matter, and we generally don't want to confront the client with the issue until the amount owing is already too high.  I co-authored an article on this topic several years ago that was picked up by several professional journals.   The concepts we discuss in the article still apply today.  By focusing on the reasons why a client is not paying the fee, a lawyer can often create a solution to get paid.  Proving once again that it pays to on top of your accounts receivable.