Tag: legalfees

Years ago, a young person I know was quite proud to show me his first credit card. I was underwhelmed and said: “Big deal. Anyone can get a credit card with their own name on it. The trick is to get a credit card with someone else’s name on it.”

I was reminded of that incident recently when I got a notice in the mail from a major insolvency firm telling me that a fund which I had unwisely invested in was insolvent, the insolvency firm had been appointed as the receiver, and a large law firm has been appointed as ‘representative counsel.’  Now I had reason to worry that all was lost.

“Our policy is to push the work down to the least expensive professional resource who can provide an excellent work product, and by doing so you get the best value for your money.”  

Said every partner in a law firm, ever. And they mean it when they say it. That is in fact their policy. And in theory, some day they will figure out how to manage their law firm so that they can consistently comply with that policy. Of course, there is a difference between theory and practice. For example, in theory communism works. Not so much in practice.

When I completed my Articles long ago, I was not hired back.  It was a time of economic recession and jobs were difficult to come by.  I sent out many application letters and eventually accepted an offer at a small suburban firm.  The day after I accepted the job, I received a phone call from one of Canada’s largest law firms offering me an interview.  I politely declined and said that I had already accepted a position.  A family member who will go unnamed thought that I was crazy, but I had given my word and I was not going to break it.