When your business needs to recover unpaid invoices or other outstanding debts, a North Texas debt collection attorney can help you pursue payment. Collections attorneys use demand letters, negotiation, litigation and judgment enforcement to secure what businesses are owed. But how do you find the right attorney for your company and the type of claim involved?
Lucé Law, PC provides commercial collection services for businesses and families throughout North Texas, helping them remedy breached contracts and pursue unpaid invoices and other outstanding debts.
5 Ways to Find a Collections Attorney for Your Business
Many law firms offer collections services, but not all have experience with the type of debt your business needs to recover. The following five factors can help your business find the right attorney for its case.
1. Look for Relevant Debt Collection Experience
Businesses can be owed money by other companies or individual consumers. Commercial debts often result from contracts, unpaid invoices, personal guarantees and disputed business accounts, while consumer debts come from goods or services obtained for personal, family or household use.
Look for an attorney experienced in the type of debt your business needs to collect. The attorney should understand the documentation and disputes common to those accounts, whether your business has a single complex claim or a large number of unpaid balances. During a consultation, ask about the attorney’s experience with claims similar to yours in debt amount and complexity.
2. Confirm Knowledge of Texas Debt Collection Law
A collections attorney should understand contract law, filing deadlines, and the evidence needed to prove the amount owed. They should be able to explain which Texas laws apply to the type of debt involved, including whether consumer debt statutes are relevant.
Your attorney must also understand the legal procedures available after a judgment, including rules about locating and pursuing a debtor’s assets. To help you evaluate an attorney’s knowledge, we’ve put together a series of questions you can ask a debt collection attorney that you are considering hiring.
3. Ask About the Attorney’s Collection Process
A collections attorney should be able to explain their strategy for recovering debts owed to your business. In many cases, this process starts with a review of available documents and previous collection attempts, followed by a formal demand letter. The attorney might then negotiate a lump-sum settlement or payment plan if the account can be resolved without litigation.
Depending on aspects like the amount owed, available documentation and the debtor’s response, litigation may be necessary. If the court awards a judgment, post-judgment collection options may include judgment liens and, in some circumstances, bank account garnishment.
4. Understand the Attorney’s Fees and Collection Costs
Collections attorneys usually charge an hourly rate, a flat fee or a contingency fee. In a contingency arrangement, the attorney receives a percentage of any debts recovered. Make sure you understand the attorney’s fees and other costs before signing anything. You can then compare those costs to the amount owed and your chances of recovery.
5. Ask How the Attorney Will Keep You Updated
Communication is an important factor when businesses hire a collections or business law attorney. To avoid slow response times and delays, find out who will be your primary contact at the firm, and how often you can expect updates. When attorneys communicate regularly and in plain language, businesses can make good decisions about settlements and negotiations.
Speak With a Collections Attorney in North Texas
Lucé Law, PC provides commercial collections services for businesses throughout North Texas. For over 40 years we have helped companies of all sizes recover money owed from unpaid invoices, breached contracts and defaulted agreements. Call (972) 632-1300 or request a free legal consultation.
