"If you aren't paid for your efforts, you're a non-profit, not a business, so make sure you're know what line of work you're in" - Unknown

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"People often don't appreciate what they don't pay for, so if someone didn't pay you for your service, not only have you lost a piece of your finite precious time, but the other party probably isn't even grateful for your valuable contribution." - also Unknown

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Few things are more frustrating for any business, than to put in hard, long work, and not get paid for it. It's one thing if you didn't make a sincere effort. Or screwed up and made things worse. How about, though, when you sacrificed those long nights in order to really deliver for your business clients and they just decided not to pay you? Wow ... that really burns.

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Now, it's true that sometimes, things come up. We all can experience cash flow issues. Maybe their client didn't pay them or wasn't satisfied with the final product that you worked on. Or perhaps, your business client just didn't feel like paying you. Sadly, actual deadbeats are a real thing. Either way, it's not right you weren't compensated, at least in part, for your heroic efforts. The question is, what are you going to do about it?

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Well, if you're owed $20,000, it obviously isn't worth paying a lawyer $30,000 to go after it. Even if you only paid $10,000 in legal fees, there's always a possibility you could lose your case, or it takes three years to get a result. I remember once, early in my career, where a party reasonably believed it was owed $400,000 but given the complexity of the case, they thought it was going to be too expensive in legal fees to collect - TOO EXPENSIVE FOR A $400,000 PAY DAY?? - can you believe it? I didn't. At the time. Now, I realize how much these lawsuits can cost.

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Further, even if you win in court, you might not ever collect the money. What?? It's true. The actual process of seizing bank accounts, or property and then selling it, can be long, complicated and fruitless - a very little discussed aspect of dispute resolution or commercial justice. Many times, sued small merchants simply fold up their business rather than pay, and then restart under a new name, and yes that's often perfectly legal. That's the reason many do business under a corporation or LLC (incidentally do you?).

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Many seasoned lawyers charge $300-$500 hour (or more) for their time, rapidly causing collection bills to exceed what you can expect to ... well collect. It just doesn't work. Many businesses, and especially unpaid consultants like young computer programmers just leave their money on their table, because they figure, "what can I do about it?"

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So what's the solution? Well, I can't promise to solve everyone's legal problems, but if you are a consultant or business that rendered services to another business and weren't paid for your work, I can try to help you, and minimize your upfront costs and risk. How?

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I'm now offering the option of a mixed contingency Business to Business fee recovery services. In plain English, other than a modest administrative fee to setup the file, I don't earn any money unless you do. This means generally you won't pay any fees unless there is a result (although certain administrative and court costs might apply).

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I find if parties are willing to be reasonable and adjust to the realities of their current situation, many times a negotiated settlement can be hammered out where everyone can get on with their professional (and personal) lives. Now, it's unrealistic to think you are going to get every penny you billed, however,

​​something is better than nothing, especially, if you already wrote it off as a complete loss.

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I invite you to contact me about various potential fee arrangements. Depending on the particular situation, I often have staggered amounts where I charge less if pure negotiations is involved and more as we approach true litigation. Either way, it's worth setting up a brief free phone call to see if I can assist you recover at least part of what you're owed. You already earned it, you might as well get what you can.

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Feel free to email me to set-up that call.

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