Earlier this week, Obiter mused on what might happen to the art collection of dissolving New York firm Weil Gotshal. This led an accountant to voice his suspicions that one law firm he audited, which had ‘a growing number of paintings’, received the artwork in lieu of fees.
How common, we wondered, is it for lawyers to accept alternatives to cash from impecunious clients? Solicitor and family law solicitor Jo O’Sullivan tells Obiter about two clients who ran out of money and offered art instead. ‘There was some negotiation about what the art was worth. But I was happy to accept their offer, and they were happy too,’ Jo says.
Anarkali Musgrave, family barrister and arbitrator, also accepted ‘two beautiful paintings… painted by my client herself after a very difficult set of (ultimately successful) family law proceedings which overlapped with a horrendous cancer diagnosis, which she also overcame’.
But art is not the only currency. Jo has also ‘had a few haircuts’, and she’s not alone. Obiter also learned of garden design services and a facial.
Then there are edible items. ‘Three bags of Fruit-tella, and I wasn’t cross about it!’ says another family lawyer, Elizabeth Saxby, founder and director of Melyn Legal.
Property solicitor and trainer Lorraine Richardson recalls some fowl offers instead of fees. ‘A Christmas turkey!’ She says. ‘I had to drive to a turkey farm in deepest Suffolk in the snow to collect it.’ She also recalls dinner at a Devon guest house hosted by a solicitor, at which pheasant was served, ‘paid in part for some fees’.
Florence Brocklesby, employment lawyer and founder of Bellevue Law, says: ‘I’ve been paid in dresses in the past. It was glorious!’
The trade-off for fees isn’t always welcome. Former Law Society president (and Clifford Chance partner) Simon Davis tells Obiter that long ago he gave early advice on a dispute before all the formalities of engagement were complete. The client followed the advice (‘essentially, settle this as soon as possible!’) but declined to pay. They did, though, send Simon a case of wine.
Any more out there? Email features editor eduardo.reyes@lawsociety.org.uk.
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