Getting Paid: Billing and Collection Strategies for the Food & Agriculture LawyerAmerican Agriculture Law Association (AALA) Roundtable Discussion

October 21, 2014

Moderator: Cari Rincker, Esq.

Rincker Law, PLLC

535 Fifth Avenue, 4th Floor

New York, NY 10017

(212) 427-2049

cari@rinckerlaw.com

www.rinckerlaw.com

Faculty: Robert Moore, Esq.

Wright & Moore

4266 Tuller Road

Dublin, OH 43017

(614) 791-9112

rmoore@ohiofarmlaw.com

www.ohiofarmlaw.com

Faculty: Allen H. Olson, Esq.

415 Pine Avenue

Albany, GA 31701

allen@olsonaglaw.com

This Will Be A Roundtable Discussion• This is not your typical presentation – we don’t have the answers, only the conversation starters. We want this to be an interactive

conversation We will first take comments from the

faculty members and then from the audience

The hope is that we can learn from each other’s experiences

• We want to focus the conversation on food/ag clients

Why Have This Roundtable Discussion?

• During my experience as the Chair of the American Bar Association, General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Agriculture Law Committee, many attorneys have come to me and said: I want to practice agriculture law/food law/equine law, but I don’t know how to make a living at it.

Most of my food/ag clients don’t want to pay much for legal services. I want to help them but I need to make a living at the same time.

I want to have a larger percentage of my practice be food/ag but don’t know how to do it. I need other types of clients to keep me in business.

Topic Overview

• Picking the Right Clients

• Billing Arrangements

• Client Relationships

• Retainer Agreements

• Billing Practices

• Collection Issues

Picking the Right Clients

• How has your client selection affected the business of your law practice and your ability to get paid?

What traits are you looking for?

What are the “red flags”?

Billing Arrangements•How do you bill your food and agriculture clients? What has been your experience with flat fee arrangements?

What are the advantages and disadvantages of working with the billable hour?

Any luck with subscription services? How have you used contingency or

partial contingency? Do you offer clients a bulk rate

discount?

Billing Arrangements•What have you found to be the most effective billing strategy for: Different types of food/ag clients

Practice Areas Contracts Business/ succession/ estate planning

Farm real estate transactions

Legal “Packages” or “Bundles”• Have you found any success selling “packages” of legal services to food and agriculture clients?Example:

Cottage food operator (making homemade goods) – Letter memorializing legal issues, business formation, insurance review, and permit application (if applicable in the state)

• What have you found to be effective ways to “reuse” and “resell” work product to similar clients?

The Billable Hour• How do you decide your rate?

• Do you have different billable hour rates for different types of clients?

• Do you bill out for administrative help?

• Do you bill by the .1 or .25 hour?

• How do you deal with client pushback on billable time?

Client Relationships• Have you found that your relationship with your clients helps diminish accounts receivable issues? What has been the most beneficial?

What are some customer-service or relationship tips for the food/ag client?

How do you handle facetime vs. phonetime to work on client relationships?

Do you send your clients a holiday present?

The Retainer• How much should an “up front” retainer be?

• How do you get clients to refund the retainer (i.e., the “Evergreen Retainer”)?

• When should you not use an up-front retainer and just bill clients as you go?

Retainer Agreements/ Engagement Letters

•What terms in your Retainer Agreement/ Engagement Letter have been the most useful on getting paid?

What has worked?What hasn’t?

Billing Practices• How often do you bill?

• Do you send the bills electronically or hard copy via mail?

• What billing program do you use?

• What level of detail do you include the bill? How descriptive are your bills?

• What methods of payments do you accept?

• What is your most useful tip for bills?

Collection Issues• When should the lawyer send written reminder notices?

• When should the lawyer make phone calls?

• When should the lawyer fire the client?

• What has your experience been with liens for legal fees (e.g., retaining lien, charging lien, security lien)?

War Stories• How did you obtain your most profitable client?

• What was the best business decision that you made in your food/ag law practice?

• What has helped you make the most money in your food/ag law practice?

• What has been the biggest lesson you have learned in your food/ag law practice?

• How did you handle your most difficult client?

• Describe a time when you had trouble collecting from a client. What did you do?

Any last tips?•What haven’t we covered that has helped you build a successful law practice?What has helped you get paid/collect from a client?

What has helped prevent accounts receivable problems?