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Frequent Questions
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There are numerous questions people have asked about our firm, some of them are serious, some are not. Answers to both types are presented below:
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Geography
What areas of Georgia does Hays & Potter service?
We serve the entire State of Georgia. Our firm presently has matters pending in all areas of the state and accepts statewide portfolios. However, if we are working on a single matter for a client, it is important to remember that Georgia is the largest state east of the Mississippi and has over 159 counties. Suits generally must be filed in the county where the defendant either resides or maintains a registered office. Upon request, we will provide an estimate of possible travel and other expenses for locations over 100 miles form the metropolitan Atlanta area. We also associate with local firms on matters in Georgia and throughout the United States.
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Geography
Can Hays & Potter handle litigation outside of Georgia?
Yes. While our attorneys are presently licensed only in Georgia, we regularly associate with other counsel throughout the United States, as well as contacts in Europe, and can address your litigation needs, allowing clients to manage their collection litigation through a single office. This allows clients with a regional or nationwide service area to handle all of their litigation needs with one call.
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Costs and Fees
What sort of fee arrangements are available?
We have both hourly and contingent fee structures available. Hourly fees are billed out at standard rates for attorney, paralegal and administrative rates to allow for maximum value for tasks performed for our clients. Contingent rates are available for collection files and vary based on collectibility of claims, volume of placements and nature of disputes by debtors.
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Costs and Fees
What sort of cost deposits are generally required for collection files?
We generally require a cost deposit of $400.00 for a collection matter with one defendant. If there are multiple defendants or personal guarantors, the cost deposit will be increased slightly to reflect the required extra expenditures. The deposit is maintained in an escrow account and costs are billed against the deposit.
The initial cost deposit should cover the filing and servoce of a suit and costs associated with normal litigation and post judgment collection. Additional costs may arise, but all expeditures are authorized prior to any advances for costs are made.
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Lien claims
What sort of notices are required in Georgia?
Georgia has adopted a Notice of Commencement statute. This means that, in many situations, where a document called a Notice of Commencement is on file in the county clerk's office pertaining to a particular job, subcontractors and material suppliers may be required to provide certain notices within thirty (30) days of the first date of work or delivery of materials. For further information on this topic, contact our offices.
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Lien Claims
How do I know if I have a lien or bond claim?
Generally, such a claim must be made within 90 days from the last date of work or delivery to a particular project. Your accounting with the debtor must be organized on a per job basis so that payments are properly allocated and all applicable notices must have been sent. Due to the technical nature of certain notice requirements, we will address those on a case by case basis.
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Lien Claims
Will Hays & Potter handle lien claims on a contingent basis?
Generally, no. Although claims of lien are asserted in order to effectuate a collection of a specific debt, the nature of lien claims and the many technical requirements for proprly filing and pursuing a lien claim make a contingent agreement in appropriate in these circumstances. A lien claim is an encumberance on property and may stand behind a mortgage or other security interests. This means that a lien claim can be successfully litigated and perfected against certain property, but be too costly or unprofitable to proceed with foreclosure and sale of the property.
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Collection Agencies
Does Hays and Potter work with collection agency accounts?
Yes. Since its inception in 1995, Hays and Potter has serviced the needs of the collection industry. We have numerous agencies with whom we are affiliated and provide litigation services for them throughout the entire state.
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Collection Agencies
How can an agency be sure that Hays & Potter will not seek to assume their portfolios?
We value our agency affiliations and see no need to undermine the relationships built on mutual trust that Hays & Potter has endeavored to build over the past fifteen years or so. We believe that the majority of commercial agencies are structured to provide the most efficient resources to handle the client contact arena and, by doing so, allow our firm to focus its energies on handling the litigation of your commercial claims.
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Collection Agencies
Does Hays & Potter handle retail accounts?
Usually, no. We have structured our firm to provide quality handling of commercial accounts placed with us. If a commercial client wishes to pursue the occaisional retail matter, we will do so efficiently and within the strictures of the FDCPA.
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Personal
People who have met us ask how we ever get any work done
The approach at Hays and Potter is that we are only serious about two main things: The practice of law and customer service. Otherwise, we believe that, while solemnity has its place in litigation related settings, levity is what allows us enjoy the company of each other and and our clients. Do not mistake our love of humor for a lack of seriously handling your claims. But face it, if we aren't going to have any fun during our work day, why bother?
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