Reasons Why Your Attorney Shouldn’t Write a Refund Letter

If your lawyer ever writes you a letter/email telling you to refund money, I recommend you get a new lawyer. 

Now, it is very easy to misconstrue what I just said.  I am not suggesting in any shape, way, or form that a lawyer should not recommend that you refund money when the lawyer believes a refund is appropriate.  If you have billed for a service you did not provide, billed for a service that was not medically necessary, or billed for a service where you were not satisfying Medicare’s conditions of payment, I will recommend that a client refund. 

The key phrase in my topic sentence was “write a letter/email.”  A lawyer orally giving advice to refund is entirely appropriate.  Memorializing it in writing is very unhelpful. 

While I understand that many people would say a lawyer’s primary responsibility is helping individuals understand the law, I think you could make a credible argument that, in fact, the most important thing a lawyer can do is make their client look good.  Helping understand the law is merely one of the means to the all-important end.   

Think back to your childhood for a moment.  You are playing with someone, a friend or a sibling, who does something to hurt you.  An adult intervenes in the situation and quickly chastises your playmate saying, “apologize right now.”  How much weight do you give to that apology?  If you are like I am, the answer is very little.  You are going to question the sincerity of the purported remorse. 

A forced apology does not carry much weight.

A forced refund does not look much better.  While it is true that the attorney-client privilege should permit you to avoid revealing that your lawyer recommended a refund, there are a wide range of scenarios that may result in the privilege being waived.  It is entirely possible that the lawyer’s recommendation will become public. 

As a result, while I will orally recommend a client refund money, I have yet to encounter a situation where I memorialize that advice in writing.  The decision to refund always lies with the client.  And if a refund is made, it should always look like it was the client’s idea.

And let me be clear. I am not saying lawyers shouldn’t be candid in telling clients when they believe a refund is wise.  I am just talking about how the advice is framed, and whether it makes the client, or the lawyer, look good. 

If the lawyer is giving advice to refund, it is because the client sought counsel.  If the client asked, it is because they genuinely want to know whether they should be making a refund. 

Whenever a lawyer can give credit for a good idea to the client, they should.  When the lawyer makes it look like they are pushing a refund, they are making the client look bad. 

You want a lawyer who is committed to making you look good.  Clients should get the credit while lawyers take the blame.  If your lawyer doesn’t see that, get a new one!

Programming note:

Listen to healthcare attorney David Glaser every Monday morning on Monitor Mondays with Chuck Buck at 10 Eastern.