Vol. 4, No. 3, Pg. 55. Some Advice for Lawyers.

• Author: By L. Mendel Rivers Jr.

South Carolina Lawyer

1992.

Vol. 4, No. 3, Pg. 55.

Some Advice for Lawyers

55Some Advice for LawyersBy L. Mendel Rivers Jr."We are wordsmiths and polished advocates. Let's start using our talents to communicate the good news about what we do."

Ten years ago I wrote what has been perhaps my best-received article on any subject for any audience. Entitled "The High Price of Low-Cost Justice," the article urged lawyers of the family bar to charge higher fees, accept fewer cases and adopt a higher standard of practice in domestic cases.

I did my work too well. The lawyers took me at my word, and when the editor of South Carolina Lawyer asked me to write an updated version of the article, I had to confess: the problem has gone away.

Lawyers no longer enter family court with a plaintive cry of "Judge, as you know, I don't do domestic work, so you'll need to help me out on this one." I don't see those lawyers any more, and I don't miss them.

Lawyers no longer charge $50 for a major, contested domestic matter and just hope to get paid someday.

Lawyers no longer accept so many domestic cases they are incapable even of remembering a client's name, much less rendering effective service.

Lawyers no longer put attorneys' fees at the very bottom of their priority lists, leaving fees out of their prayers for relief and asking for them only as an afterthought when they walk out the courtroom door.

Lawyers no longer refuse to keep track of their hours on domestic cases and merely guesstimate areasonable fee. Most lawyers maintain meticulous records of their hours and offer the court a strong (okay, it's canned, straight off the word processor, but it's strong anyway) affidavit detailing how, why and when they incurred all those hours on the case.

Even though the Supreme Court withdrew its certification of family law as a specialty, most family law practitioners are "specialists" anyhow. In my county, perhaps 50 lawyers handle 90% of the domestic work and, in general, do a terrific job. They know the law, and they know how to charge a fee. They also know when to fight like tough advocates and when to compromise like ladies and gentlemen. I'm proud of them.

I can't add anything to my advice of 10 years ago, except keep up the good work. But if I may, there are a couple of new areas I would like to address.

The first area is the selling of lawyer...