u/Business-Switch-7495

I recently agreed to help a friendly acquaintance with a relatively small dispute—about $30,000—thinking I could spend 3–4 hours negotiating a pre-litigation settlement and drafting an agreement.

Instead, the client’s constant calls, requests for updates, unreasonable demands( “make it bankruptcy-proof”) and pressure for quick turnarounds caused the time commitment to balloon. I initially didn’t bill for many of those calls because of our friendly relationship, but the experience gave me a newfound appreciation for the billable hour.

It certainly isn’t the most efficient model or appropriate for every situation, but it does create an incentive for clients to be more deliberate about how and when they use their lawyer’s time.