Non payment of professional fees

Greetings. You have raised a very pertinent issue, which is very common in our legal fraternity. Clients getting their work done and then refusing to pay is indeed a malpractice on the part of the clients.

Earlier, the lawyers were often left without any remedy as there was only a word of mouth when it came to agreements and no written agreement used to be drawn. But now even the lawyers can exercise certain remedies to ensure that their clients pay their dues in time.

1. Issuing a legal notice: If a client refuses to pay the fees within the stipulated time, stating that any subsequent failure to clear the dues shall invite legal action.
2. Suing for breach of contract: Nowadays, the lawyer-client relationships are governed by the terms specified in a written contract. Such contracts contain the clause of fee payment and late fee. So, if a client refuses to pay the fees, a lawyer can file a suit for breach of contract stating that the contractual terms of payment of dues have been violated by the client. If the lawyer succeeds in getting an order in his favour, he can compel the client to pay the money.

Hope this satisfies your query.