Initiating a lawsuit to collect a fee may be the most common trigger to professional-negligence claims filed against geoprofessionals. The clients involved often use a portion of the amount they owe to fund a counterclaim accusing the geoprofessional of negligence. The high cost of defending such claims, and the uncertainty of the outcome, explain why so many geoprofessionals choose to simply write off the money owed. In this GBA Best Practices monograph, GBA’s Business Practices Committee counsels that the best way of avoiding such counterclaims is to avoid slow- and no-pay clients to begin with. It provides guidance about performing a basic credit check and otherwise qualifying prospective new clients. It also addresses the topic of “risk credit.”

bill issuance, COD delivery, credit cards, credit checking, hired-gun experts, litigation, professional negligence, risk credit, small projects