The thing with fee schedule's as I find is that unless we are prepared to proceed with demand for payment, generally speaking in the only recognizable way using the public court mechanism then all the bills we send will never have any power. If we do not proceed, our credibility is lost overnight. Having pushed the process myself over a recent matter with a plc company, two points are noted;
1. Courts will not award payments for letters or private time taken and charged prior to a hearing. It will only award the original claim value plus costs.
2. The best we can attain is an out of court settlement by mediation with or without the mediation service offered by the court.
For instance, lets say a claim has been made against the PERSON by a COMPANY and you rebutt that claim and send in a fee schedule for your time while acting for the PERSON. Your bills far exceed the bills sent by the COMPANY and whoever it is that has bound the COMPANY must now attend a COURT as a witness to prove the COMPANY's claim against the PERSON.
It's highly unlikely that the witness will wish to appear in a court. It will also cost the COMPANY far too much in costs to defend against your claim.
So, in the interests of cost and the likely exposure the COMPANY will get when it loses, it's much easier and more economical for the COMPANY to just bite the bullet and offer some kind of payout to keep us quiet.
It'll offer something, a whole lot less than you want, but something. You then have a choice to accept the offer and chalk it up as a win, or contest and try for more....at the risk of losing.
You'll get your costs back, plus a token payment as a 'goodwill gesture'...but as for getting paid for all the bills you sent them...forget it.
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Ironic, that those who would consider us mad choose to live in the madness of an illusion