How to convince clients you’re worth the cost

If a client can’t or won’t pay your retainer, they are not worth a discount, Janice Brown tells the ABA Journal’s Stephanie Francis Ward in this episode of Asked and Answered. But there are ways to explain your true value to a potential client who balks at the cost.

Brown, who is the founding partner of the litigation firm Brown Law Group, advises confidence when speaking with a potential client and gives listeners tips drawn from her own experience explaining legal fees and retainers.

One tip is to have examples ready for how much attorneys usually charge for similar work, so you can immediately provide context if a potential client responds that your retainer is expensive when you say the amount. Brown also advises having a list of colleagues to refer them to if they can’t afford your fees, so they still see you as a person to go to for answers.

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Stephanie Francis Ward
Janice P. Brown is the founding partner of the Brown Law Group, a Southern California and Nevada litigation firm specializing in all aspects of employment law, including business litigation and corporate law. Brown received her undergraduate degree in journalism from the University of Montana and earned her law degree from Gonzaga Law School in two years. Prior to founding the Brown Law Group, she worked for the Department of Justice’s Tax Division; was a partner with Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek; and spent four years with the Vantage Law Group, which she also founded. She has received numerous awards, including the Department of Justice’s Outstanding Trial Attorney Award in 1987.