The Skinny on Your Money »

Legal Fees: Missing the Point »

Last Friday's (January 30) New York Times front page included an article about legal fees: "Billable Hours Giving Ground at Law Firms." This article raised the question whether clients were being treated fairly when the measure of a legal fee is the attorney's time expended. An obvious concern is whether an attorney compensated solely on the

A New Closing Dynamic »

In the real estate transactions world, we are operating in new territory. Buyers are nervous ("are we overpaying?"). Lenders are skittish ("are we overfinancing?"). Appraisers are ultra-conservative. And so on. It is for this reason that I have been suggesting to my clients for more than a year that the period between contract and closing --