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Greedy Tip of the Week: Settle Your Bad Cases

By George Khoury, Esq. on October 05, 2018 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Do you have any cases that you just absolutely dread working on? Or clients that you just wish you never signed up in the first place? Or a case with facts so bad you wish you were never even born? Do you have a penchant for hyperbole?

Well, given that a lawyer's job is to resolve legal problems, for your own mental health, you may want to consider seeing if any of those cases you view as torture can be cleared off your plate. And though your client holds the keys to settlement, there are definitely a few things you can discuss with your client to make it more attractive for them to settle.

Freedom Is Payment Enough ... Sometimes

If a client is hung up over money and taking a hit to your fees would make the client shut up and settle, it's not the end of the world to take that hit.

In fact, it's more like the start of a whole new world, and one where you don't ever have to interact with that client ever again. Though, if it was really that bad, you may want to consider taking what money you do make and rolling it into some therapy.

Of Dollars and Sense

If you see some serious problems with a case, you should have the dollars and sense talk with your client, especially if the matter is being billed hourly. If it makes no sense for a client to keep throwing good money after bad, as the saying go, tell them, then ask for your security retainer to be replenished so they get the hint. Running the numbers can really help motivate clients to settle.

Settling for Nothing Is Better Than Losing

Sometimes, it's less the client, and more the case. No matter how much you like the client, sometimes you are duty bound to frame their case in a realistic light and explain that it looks to you like they're going to lose, based on the facts.

And if you're in one of those "really bad facts" situations, there's nothing wrong with seeing if you can settle in a way that will put a few bucks in a client's pocket, or at the least, not take any more bucks out of it.

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