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Comment by jbooth | Hacker News Reader

Yeah, having seen some friends get stuck in that situation, I've decided if I ever get into contracting, I'm never starting out on a contract without the "you pay my legal fees if I have to sue you for collection" clause in the contract.

Once you've got that clause.. hey bring it on. Pay me or I'll just hire a buddy for my lawyer, have him rack up the bill and consult with him over a steak dinner.

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Correct me if I'm wrong, but I did not think that was possible(legal).

You can put anything into a contract. And in this case (client pays fees, including legal fees, associated with collection of invoices ... Or somesuch) it's certainly enforceable.

... unless you have to sue them for the funds to sue them.

I'm unconvinced that the "client pays legal fees" clause is really a sure thing. All the client has to do is make the argument on some other basis, and suddenly it's not a collections issue but a dispute over something else in the contract. In most states, each side will pay their own legal freight in such civil complaints.

I've personally been on the wrong side of it with some opportunistic a-hole lawyers and a 30-day late payment on my condo fees. Maybe it wouldn't have held up if I wanted to dump 5 figures to fight it all the way, but then that's the point, right? Once you threaten someone with legal fees, they're likely to get a lot more cooperative. Personally, I ate it rather than fight it.

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