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Me. Every single day. Since I started practicing.
Rising Star
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Would not address the f bomb.
Agree 100%
Billing issue=partner’s problem.
Came here to say this.
Real question is why do you even care about the F bomb?
I mean, I treat my clients with respect and professionalism. I guess I expect the same and think it’s inappropriate. I know shit happens but it rubs me the wrong way.
Ignore the f bomb, explain the bill, move on.
Use an f bomb of your own, see whose the stronger one
At least 14 points
Respond like the F bomb never existed!
Email him back that you will look into it and bill him .1 for that email
No, as an associate, you do. It’s not your job and the partner writes off that crap.
Address as you would a golden retriever
Distract him with a tennis ball!
Was it “why the f is this bill so high?” or “f you”? If the former, who really cares. If the latter, then yes it’s not cool. Either way as everyone else said, don’t address it at all.
Rising Star
You should find out where he lives, then ring his door bell, slap him in the face, then throw a printed copy of the bill at his face. Anything less is an insult to your honor.
You could also meet him in an early meeting out of town. Signed, your obedient servant.
If you’re in NYC you could offer him a duel in Weehawken Hamilton/Burr style.
(currently looking for laterally opportunities in NYC with the hope that this duel thing is a possibility)
As long as the bill has a break down there’s no need to respond and it’s unreasonable to explain further.
As others have said, no need to respond if narratives and expenses are clearly laid out and squeaky clean and you don’t feel comfortable not taking any form of action atp to ensure you get paid - forward it to the originating or supervising partner.
Pro
How is the F bomb relevant? It's "not cool" for them to swear in an email?
You send a client a bill and he responds there’s no fucking way this costs that much. Just rubs me the wrong way when all my communications have been professional. I could be being overly sensitive, but it pissed me off that he responded that way
You should see emails biglaw gets from PE clients.
You should see emails in-house lawyers get from PE!
Not your job - why do you think it’s your responsibility to respond? Where is the partner?
Clutches pearls. Exits right.
Was the client a lawyer (eg in house counsel) or a non lawyer? If non lawyer, sophisticated or no? Response may depend on the answer
As other’s said, it’s the partner’s problem. But if you address it for some reason, you’ve can offer to walk them through it. They presumably know your rates, and you itemized the breakdown and should be prepared to explain those.
Ultimately, many non-lawyer clients are generally idiots who think everything can be done quickly and easily at no cost, so this sort of thing will happen from time to time if you don’t give estimates
"So, buddy, you don't like your bill? Well, I got a photo of you here, and I gotta say, that is NOT a legally approved use of farming equipment. So do you pay up, or so I share the photo?"
😂
I must be jaded from working in litigation but that’s just a regular Monday for me
I’ll get used to it. As I’ve gotten more senior billing disputes are the bane of my existence.
Like Tom Segura once said, you have to come over the top. But it's tough when the client came right out of the gate with the F bomb, but I'm sure you can get creative.
First of all, try not to be so sensitive about language like this. Ignore it. Next use empathy.
Try to put yourself in their shoes. Clients want to be pleased and never surprised. It is the lawyer’s job to manage expectations. If the client was told that the work would be performed within a certain budget range and the bill that exceeded that range irrespective of its reasonableness, or if budget was not discussed at all, that’s on you, the team serving the client. As others have suggested, it is the role of the client responsible / relationship lawyer to address this with the client.