I was awakened during the middle of the night by a phone call from an unlisted number. Half alert, I answered the call. A recorded message stated, “An inmate from the County jail is on the line. Press one to accept.”
My mind immediately went into overdrive, racing to make sense of the situation before me. Giving in to my curiosity, I accepted the call.
On the other end of the line was a dear friend, Matt. He had been involved in a physical altercation, resulting in his arrest. I was his lifeline; his one call.
Shaken up and confused, I attempted to calm Matt in hopes of obtaining the facts. I racked my brain to think of a contact who could provide guidance.
First thing the next morning, I contacted Ron, a defense attorney whom I had known for a few years. I shared with him the information that Matt had provided me, including the fact that Matt had never been arrested or had any previous brush with the law. Given the jail’s overcrowding, I assumed that Matt would be processed and released in short order. Ron wasn’t as convinced and offered to make a few calls to the jailer on my behalf.
A few hours passed before Ron called back. He painted a bleak picture, and suggested that Matt engage legal counsel. Unfamiliar with the criminal side of law myself, and with Matt’s best interests in mind, I formally engaged Ron by signing an engagement letter and providing a retainer. The agreement and monies paid were for Ron’s representation at upcoming hearings and expunging the arrest from Matt’s record. Ron specifically stated that his time on the matter up to that point was complimentary based on our business relationship.
Two hours later my phone rang. It was Matt. He had been released from jail and needed a ride home. He explained that the entire situation had been a misunderstanding, that no charges would be filed, and his record wouldn’t be affected.
I immediately called Ron. Getting his voice message, I updated him and followed up the call with an email detailing the good news. In my correspondence, I referenced the agreement I had signed earlier that day and how it was no longer needed as the matter had been resolved. I believed that Ron would agree and return the retainer amount.
The following day, I sent Ron a bottle of wine with a handwritten note, thanking him for being available had the situation escalated.
A week passed. Sitting in my office, Ron called. He stated that, as far as he was concerned, our agreement was still valid and he wouldn’t be returning the retainer. I was stunned.
Those of us in professional services understand that a majority of business opportunities result from referrals from other professionals–CPAs, bankers, business managers, financial planners, etc.
When we act in bad form, we damage those referral relationships that we rely upon for future business.
Speaking of greed, a great man once told me, “The institution may be able to survive the loss of money, but the individual can’t survive the loss of self respect.”
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Speaks volumes. As usual, thanks for sharing!
This story points up the need to get your engagement letter right in situations like these and for we lawyers to avoid making every matter an ecomonic opportunity. Most matters will take time to grind out a result. But in a few cases like this one, a lawyer may make a big enough impression initially that the matter is resolved in the first instance. In this case, if the engagement letter was clear that specific services were to rendered in the future that did not include Ron’s initial call to the jailer (and I take Jonathan’s word for it knowing him to be a straight shooter), then Ron has to give the retainer back and could be disciplined if he doesn’t. However, in a lot of other cases, it’s not so clear who gets what if your first call or letter springs the accused (or gets the deal done). Regardless, when this happens, I invariably comp the client and return the retainer entirely or less only time for the letter. Far more valuable to me is the client who paid me $5 but gives me a million dollars in marketing when he tells people how I got his kid out of the slammer with one call (or the transactional equivalent).
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Jonathan, as you know, I went to law school and practiced and always found this kind of behavior reprehensible. On the train into work this morning, I was reading “The World According to Garp.” Referring to Garp’s mother’s brothers (one a law student, the other a law professor) he writes, “Both…were of the opinion that the practice of law was vulgar, but the study of it was sublime.” Of course a huge generalization, but you’re story illustrates the often ugly, Machiavellian side of legal practice, and professional life in general. For every five lawyers who act professionally, there’s someone like this…
Looking forward to seeing you at the conference later this month.
Tom
Jonathan
Having witnessed and experienced first hand how you life your life, giving unconditionally to others both personally and professionally, I feel protective of you – and I am sincerely sorry for that experience.
You are a true mensch.
This is NOT a case of what goes around, comes around. Every once in a while we encounter another human who is reflecting back to us who we could never become. This is not a mirror. It’s more like opposite day.
Living your life as a “giver extraordinaire” – never having any expectation of receiving anything in return – makes for a much richer life than one who plumps their bank accounts with un-refunded retainers.
Thanks for sharing this story. It’s a wonderful reminder that it’s time to pay attention at deeper and higher levels to the gifts in the relationships we share with those we network with, and choose to be in connection with. Sometimes we don’t know until we make that call, but for those who we DO know don’t vibrate at the frequency we need, thanks for the wake up call to clean house.
Dee
Jonathan,
This is a great article – it defines and updates the saying “Separating the men from the boys” which should be changed to “Separating the professionals from the grifters or slackers.”. I can’t say I am shocked that an attorney would behave in this manner, but I am disappointed that someone who knows you – especially in a business environment – would display such pathetic, unprofessional attributes.
When I decided to go to law school, I can’t say I did it with completely altruistic motives. I wanted to be a professional in an esteemed law firm and be respected and paid well. But I also valued my new role as a counselor and sincerely wanted to, and continue to, help people who find themselves in a difficult situation. Since starting my own firm, I have provided numerous hours of free counseling, discounted hours of legal work and gone out of my way to help complete strangers (let alone someone in a networking group who, with one kind word, could help me obtain more business) in tough legal situations.
The last time I helped someone in a difficult situation was a couple who had signed on as clients even though they had very little money to pay a retainer – he was an officer with LAPD and she was a stay home mom. I cut the retainer in half, did a substantial amount of work at a reduced cost and obtained a favorable result to the couple. A couple of weeks later, I received a fix-it citation from a Beverly Hills cop for not having valid insurance in my car. I called my client for some advice and the next day he came to my office, signed the fix-it ticket and promised to help me in any way in the future.
It’s called karma and it works fairly well. Maybe you need to tell Ron so he knows what to expect over the next couple of months…
Ellia