RVG and Mandanten-Management

From the RVG-doesn't-guarantee-maximum-client-revenue files:

The warmth of the mug nestled in my cold fingers and the comfort of the soft chair almost make me feel it's okay to be in an establishment belonging to a much-disparaged coffee chain. Generally I hate 'meeting for coffee' and prefer to meet for a walk. For today's installment of the road-kill rubbernecker reality show that has me in its grasp, I accommodate the actor's wish for comfort.

When we met at a networking event a few years ago, she was just setting up her own law practice. Across from me, my cringetainment provider settles into her chair, crossing a tight-jeaned leg to provocatively display her studded leather boot. Last time we talked, she'd screwed up a licensing case and lost a chunk of change for a good client. I ask where that stands.

She knows that he knows he can calculate the loss she incurred as damages. She's pretty sure she won't get any payment for a case that was a lot of unpleasant work, because she screwed up. Happens. They haven't yet sat down and resolved the issue. She's hoping it will go away.

Today she reports she's just won a leasing case for him. He'd prepaid more than half of her fee, and the opponent wired all funds to her account. The client still owes her some money, and legally, she's entitled to withhold the balance of her fee and wire him the remainder.

Strategically, is there any good reason for her to do this? If he's got a strong history of honoring his obligations, should she fear he won't pay the relatively small fee? And even if she did fear that, would grabbing that money now really be worth provoking an upstanding client to feel less good-will in handling the inevitable discussion of the significant damages she incurred?

Not sure why I've met her for coffee again. Maybe it's her absolute conviction she's the hottest stuff going, a worldview so foreign to me, that fascinates me in ways no movie star could. Today, though, I realize how bored I've become of her being too bloody smart to treat people, including clients, like humans. Too egotistical to build value and share it equitably.

Why do so many lawyers dance around on client relationships as if they can hold billing norms over clients' heads without damaging trust? A few weeks ago, I'd commented it was really fair of clients who offer to pre-pay, when her bill technically isn't due until she's completed the work. She grinned, self-satisfied, and said she was entitled to demand pre-payment. Talk about not getting the value of a decent client. She's often talked about other clients who she has to chase down for money, so why take this guy for granted? Maybe she's just callous.

I'm struck by clarity: this 'networking' thing isn't working for me. When she's told me about 'putting in a word for me' when she's had the chance to connect me with projects, she's talked about me in ways that didn't in any way convey what kind of work I do. Any information I've given her about my projects, she manages to downgrade to the lowest possible level. I've rationalized that she just doesn't know much outside her field. Now it slaps me in the face: she hasn't asked, or tried to learn.

She gets up to order another 15-specifications-coffee drink, and I think of her (self-)righteous anger a few years ago, when she'd turned down a project I'd recommended. It didn't pay squat, it really didn't, and she lectured me that a German lawyer has the right to fair remuneration! It's a big, reputable American company, I'd insisted. They don't know you, your exam results are anything but stellar, your work history is spotty. Just do one little project for them. For some reason, she did. Then another. They turned into one of her best clients.

As she returns, I don't say anything, just go on stirring my plain, short coffee. She runs her hands through her thick, silver-streaked, dark hair, pushing it back from her face. I wonder why she doesn't see the revenue she'll not generate in the future, just because she felt entitled to hang on to her couple hundred Euros this week.

It's all in the RVG, so it must be the right way to do things.

My coffee is cold, and my delusion that this woman was ever interested in improving her practice has evaporated. I excuse myself and clear my cup. She stays, feeling pretty and smart, twirling her straw in her fancy coffee drink.


n.b. : said acquaintance never violated client privilege by disclosing identifying details