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difficult debts. Wild waters. 
5. Using A Lawyer
YOU CAN TRY asking your lawyer to send the debtor a letter. 
The idea is to startle the debtor into paying. This 
sometimes works. 
Sometimes a lawyer is willing to write a letter that begins 
like this: "We act on behalf of Minimax Circuits Pty Ltd. We 
are instructed that you are indebted to our client to the 
amount of $1200."  
And it ends something like this:
"We advise that if the sum of $1200 is not received by our 
office within fourteen days of the date hereof, our client 
will issue proceedings against you for that sum without 
further notice to you."  
Your lawyer hasn't insisted on knowing what the matter is 
about. He (or she) just sends out a letter. Even so, a 
letter like this isn't free. Make sure you know how much 
it's going to cost. And weigh that against the size of the 
debt. And think about the psychology of the debtor: is he 
used to getting letters like this? Will he just shrug? 
If you want to use this technique regularly, you may be able 
to work out a deal with a lawyer. A bulk rate. But usually 
you'll get the same kind of reaction you'd get from a doctor 
if you phoned up and asked for a prescription for 
double-strength penicillin, without saying what your 
symptoms were. He'd want you to come in and be examined 
first. Similarly, lawyers didn't spend all those years in 
law school to be asked to write letters without getting any 
background. 
From the evidence I have, the success rate for a straight 
lawyer's letter isn't too high. (But as one lawyer told me: 
"It depends on the nature of the debt and to whom it is 
owed. Obviously, if the debtor thinks he has a good defense 
the letter will draw no instructive response...") 
But if you continue to the next step, and get your lawyer to 
send a summons, that often does the trick -- especially for 
a debt that's only a couple of thousand dollars. Your 
expenses have gone up, though: there are some court costs, 
more lawyer's time, and the cost of getting the summons 
served. Worse yet, if your lawyer insists on getting stuck 
into the case and finding out what it's about, you could be 
up for hundreds of dollars just to get a summons served. 
Remember, we're talking about trying to startle  the debtor 
into paying. You realize it's not economic to carry the 
legal process any further: the sum you're chasing is too 
small, or you suspect the debtor hasn't got much money 
anyway. You're hoping to jolt the debtor into issuing you a 
check (and probably put off paying someone else). Shock 
tactics. 
If the debtor doesn't  pay when he gets a summons, then -- 
if you wish to -- you can normally just let the matter die. 
You don't have to list the action for trial. 
If the debtor wants to be difficult -- or stand on some high 
principles -- he  can list the matter for trial himself. 
(But as you might imagine, this doesn't often happen.) A 
slight danger is that the debtor will later apply to the 
court to have your action formally dismissed (for 'want of 
prosecution'). This makes it extremely hard, or expensive, 
to sue him for the debt later, if you discover he actually 
has some money. Also, the court may 'award costs' in the 
debtor's favor -- so you'll get a bill for some part of the 
debtor's costs in getting the action dismissed. And you have 
to pay it. 
In short, matters are not always 100% under control, even 
when you only threaten  legal action. But as you'll see in 
the next section, if you decide to drive the legal process 
all the way to the court, your steering wheel can snap off 
completely. 
When You Expect To Go To Court
TWO important points, right away:
1. Ask your lawyer to request a pre-hearing conference at 
the court. Ask him to do it as soon as he can. If the 
pre-hearing conference is granted, it usually speeds things 
up. And it can save you a lot of money in legal fees and 
court costs. More on this later. 
2. Check that the debtor will be able to pay you when you 
win your case. (Don't expect the lawyer to check on this.) 
If necessary, hire a private investigator. Find out somehow! 
There is no point spending money -- and your time -- to get 
a court judgment, only to find out the debtor can't pay 
you. 
How To Save Some Money On Lawyers' Fees
IF YOU LEARN to behave like a lawyer's ideal client, your 
bills will be lower. 
Don't  present your lawyer with a half-crazed story, full of 
sound and fury but with no legal value in it. First write  
out what happened, in full detail. Get it typed. Make sure 
it's very clear. 
When you get to a point in the story that you can 
substantiate with a document, refer to the document in the 
text. ("See the Contract, document A.") Put all these 
documents in order, with the story on top, send them to your 
lawyer and ask him to read them. 
After he's done that, then make an appointment to see him. 
You'll be amazed at the difference this makes. The meeting 
will go fast and smoothly. The lawyer will ask you about any 
points that aren't quite clear from the papers you gave 
him. 
From then on, keep in mind that your object is to get the 
debtor to pay  you. Don't get so wrapped up in the 
proceedings that it becomes a mission to punish the debtor. 
Anywhere in the proceedings, the debtor's lawyer may suggest 
a compromise. Think very carefully before you turn it down. 
Your legal costs will never be any less.  
The more you can bury your pride and anger, and see the 
whole business as a procedure,  the more likely you'll come 
out ahead. It also means less time spent talking to your 
lawyer about what amounts to your emotional reactions to the 
whole business. He'll listen to your problems, and guide you 
away from irrational decisions -- but it will cost you. 
Keep your cool. Treat it like a game of chess.
The statistics are good: less than 10% of the Magistrates' 
Court summonses for debts ever go to trial or to arbitration 
at the court. The rest are settled before they get that 
far. 
What The Lawyer Is Thinking
YOUR LAWYER doesn't want you to hit the roof when you get 
his bill. So if you're just chasing a few thousand dollars,  
he probably hopes that the debtor will make some acceptable 
offer before the trial. He knows this would be to your 
advantage. Your legal costs would probably then be