Good post by the always interesting Dan Ariely on a locksmith who finds his service not valued if he opens a lot to quickly, suggesting little effort for the cost of the service. This can happen with criminal defense lawyers also, who typically charge a flat fee for most cases.If your lawyer quickly gets your case dismissed with a well-considered argument and motion to dismiss that takes 10 minutes in court, some clients can get cranky about paying several thousand dollars for the result.
But that kind of expertise and experience is what you are paying for. Just because an attorney (or other professional) makes it look easy, doesn’t mean it is easy or obvious for someone else less qualified.
If you get the result you want, be happy. The result is what matters. You can always pay less, and get a less experienced lawyer sweating it out and struggling to fight your charge. But if you pay a consummate professional and get professional results, it doesn’t seem right to squabble about how easy he or she may have made it look.
As the saying goes, “gunfighters don’t charge by the bullet”.
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