Dear Colleagues,
I charge lower rates than most of the other attorneys in my local
Collaborative group (I graduated from law school in 2004, so this
differential makes sense and feels just fine with me).
I believe that having professionals at different rates is the only thing
that makes sense as local groups might have members at different phases of
their careers, or with different focuses in expertise, and hence
legitimately may have higher or lower rates.
I am a great non-adversarial attorney, but despite that I am not comfortable
charging the same rates as my colleagues who have been practicing family law
since I was like 5 years old. And maybe some of my clients pick me because
I charge less, or potential clients not pick me because I don’t have as much
experience in family law as other attorneys in my group. The more varied
local groups allow their membership to be, the wider the spectrum of
professionals potential clients have to choose from. And in a movement that
touts being “client-centered,” that seems an important spectrum to offer.
Allowing professionals to charge different rates not only reinforces that
professional newbies should be included in local group membership right out
of school (versus the unwelcoming, and in my book, unfortunate, policy in
some local groups to require years of work experience to join) —because
clients that would choose a professional with less experience, and hence a
professional with lower fees, have the option to do so. Additionally,
professionals with lower rates may make a Collaborative Practice divorce
process financially doable for some potential clients for whom it might not
otherwise be.
Finally, I surely do not get my professional self-image from my rate, and
anyone that says that perceptions of legitimacy and acumen are directly tied
to your professional rate is possibly mistaking money for respect.
Regards, Unmani
___________________________________________
Unmani Sarasvati, JD
Mediation Offices of Unmani Sarasvati, PC
166 Santa Clara Avenue, Oakland, CA 94610
510-652-0220
HYPERLINK "http://www.mediationoffices.net"www.mediationoffices.net
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