By: Scott Bassett

Scott Bassett — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 06:53:16 +0000

Lower overhead allowed me to reduce my hourly rate to $225. Before I moved to Florida from Michigan in 2002, my hourly rate for appellate work was $300. That was based on the need to maintain an office in an upscale Detroit suburb.
I practice a very narrow specialty – Michigan appellate family law. There are relatively few attorneys who are well-known for this type of work, so the rate reduction was not necessary from a competition perspective. I continue to be offered more work than I can handle. The same is true of my colleagues back in Michigan who do family law appellate work.
Some of the clients who contact me question how it is possible to handle Michigan appellate work long-distance from Florida. They wonder if the cost will be higher. I explain to them how the use of technology in my practice, combined with my home-based operation, allowed me to reduce my hourly rate by 25% and save them substantial fees.
A typical Michigan family law appeal involves one trip to the Court of Appeals for oral argument. Most of my arguments are in Detroit or Lansing. In either case, I fly into Detroit because of much cheaper fares. Airfare between Tampa and Detroit is very reasonable, except for certain peak periods. I generally fly in the night before, staying at a budget hotel and renting a modest car. It is not uncommon for the entire cost of travel to be well under $400. Although I charge the travel costs to the client, the lower hourly rate more than makes up for it. In fact, some lawyers based in Michigan actually charge more that I do to handle an oral argument. I charge only for time at court, not for travel time to and from the Court of Appeals. Many Michigan-based appellate attorneys bill portal-to-portal. With their generally higher hourly rates ($300 plus), their fees for oral argument often exceed mine.
In addition to lower fees for the client, I can also respond more quickly to emergencies. I do all of my own typing, copying (Michigan does not yet accept electronic filing), shipping, etc. I am not dependent on anyone else’s schedule. However, I must balance my heightened availability to work on emergencies with my family obligations. Although my kids are in high school and my wife works full-time for local government, life is much better if I can avoid having to work too many nights or weekends.
And as the holidays approach and the family obligation schedule becomes full, I tend to cut back on new matters so that I have more time to spend with my family (especially during the kids’ school breaks). With my low overhead, choosing not to work as hard during such periods is possible. It would not be as possible in a traditional office setting. Fortunately, I maintain contact with my colleagues in tradtional office settings in Michigan. If I can’t (or choose not to) take a case, there are several referral options available.
Overall, I think my home office arrangement, although long-distance from my client base, serves my clients very well.

By: Lisa Solomon

Lisa Solomon — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 20:08:29 +0000

I hope that one of the benefits you will be discussing in your book is the ability to work during non-business hours when necessary. Working from home has allowed me to take on some urgent matters that I might otherwise have had to decline, because I knew that I could put in long hours without having to worry about: (1) who would be watching my children (because, for example, my husband was out of town and I had to work at night, while the kids were asleep); (2) driving late at night when I’m exhausted from work; or (3) my personal safety in and around an otherwise deserted office building.

Comments on: Are you Passing – On the Benefits of Being a "Home Office Lawyer" to Your Clients?

By: Scott Bassett

By: Lisa Solomon