Welcome to our ongoing series of blog posts in the Top Echelon Recruiter Training Center: “Jeff Allen’s Collection Tip of the Week.” Each week, we’ll highlight one collection tip from Allen, JD/CPC, the world’s leading placement lawyer.
Since 1975, Allen has collected more placement fees, litigated more trade secret cases, and assisted more placement practitioners than anyone else. He’s also the author of 24 books and a regular columnist for The Fordyce Letter, one of the leading publications in the recruiting industry.
Below is this week’s collection tip for recruiters, courtesy of Jeff Allen.
What the Client Says:
“The fee’s too high.”
How the Client Pays:
Recruiters laugh or get angry at the “fee’s too high” position.
But courts will arbitrarily reduce placement fees in the name of equity (fairness) unless there is a written, signed or otherwise fully accepted contract introduced into evidence.
The reason for judicial fee reductions is the mindset of judges and juries. The vast majority of judges were “low-billers” when they practiced law. They’re security-conscious, status-conscious, conservative types who have opted for the benefits of government work.
Juries are usually blue-collar types. If they’re employed, their employer is paying for their jury duty. If not, they’re either unemployed or retired. Like judges, they’re not risk-takers, and certainly don’t understand why five-figure placement fees are such a bargain.
If you’re gonna laugh, laugh last.
And don’t get angry, get even. Get paid—in full!
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(Know how to collect your well-earned fees? Test yourself! Visit Allen’s Placement Law website and click the “Placement Fee Collection Quiz” button. Allen can be reached via telephone at 310.559.6000 or via email at jeff@placementlaw.com.)