While many law firms seem to be bracing for disaster in this market, I see an excellent opportunity to generate new clients while also building an upside into your fee agreements. Although the current economic conditions are causing an explosion of litigation, many clients are experiencing extremely tight cash flow and cannot afford the usual fee structures.
Under these circumstances, how do you turn this to your advantage? The answer is multiple types of flexible-fee agreements that both new and existing clients will greatly appreciate. Firms that refuse to be flexible and creative in a down market risk losing clients and enhanced fees. I have already seen a number of clients that have been turned away by other firms because those lawyers are not taking the long-term view regarding client relationships and the economy.
