Red Flags in Legal Bills is a more advanced course in legal bill auditing. Call it Legal Bill Audit 201. This book takes a more in-depth look behind some of the common and not-so-common billing issues to see what important warning signals attorneys may be inadvertently sending.
As explained in the book, observing an isolated issue in a legal bill can, but does not always, raise a red flag. But observing the same issue multiple times in a legal bill may be more of a warning that triggers the red flag. These red flags are signals that raise a cause for concern about something beyond the billing issue itself. That something may otherwise go undetected but for the signal the red flag is sending.
So just what kind of things can red flags signal?
Some red flags can signal that the lawyer is trying to deceive the client in his billing and possibly in other areas as well. Or certain red flags may indicate that the lawyer lacks the experience or the competence needed to be able to handle the matter to a successful conclusion. And some red flags may indicate that the lawyer lacks adequate staff to cost-effectively handle the matter or that the attorney is just not that interested in helping to hold down legal costs.
As explained in the book, far better to notice and to check out these red flag issues early on as they occur rather than wait till the end when faced with an unsatisfactory result or significantly more legal expense than originally anticipated.
