Overdue legal fees demand letter template
A demand letter for overdue fees is a formal letter from the office to the client listing the overdue instalments, with their amounts and due dates under the fee agreement, and asking for payment by clear means within a set period. Sent after a friendly reminder failed, it gives the office a written record.
This letter is usually sent by the accountant or by the partner responsible for the client, once an instalment’s due date has passed and a phone reminder or a friendly message has achieved nothing. It is not meant as a break: the client is still a client, and their case is still in the office’s hands. Its purpose is to document the demand in figures that leave no room for dispute: which agreement, which instalments, how much and since when. That is why the statement of account is attached to it, and why it leaves the client a gracious way out if they have paid and the payment has not reached the office. In well-run offices, the letter goes past the lawyer in charge of the file before it is sent, because its timing may touch on an upcoming hearing or a sensitive stage of the case.
When do you need this template?
- After one or more instalments have passed their due date and a friendly reminder has gone unanswered.
- When a client has built up more than one overdue instalment under one or more agreements.
- Before any step the agreement allows on late payment, such as withdrawing after notice, so that the notice is in writing.
- When a corporate client needs a written demand to put the payment through its internal procedures.
What must it include?
- The letter’s number and date, and the client’s name and address or email as in the agreement.
- A clear subject line quoting the fee agreement’s number and date.
- A table of the overdue instalments: each instalment’s due date and amount, what has been paid of it, and what remains.
- The total overdue in figures and in words in Qatari riyals, and the payment deadline in days.
- The ways to pay: the bank account with its IBAN, a cheque, or payment at the office.
- A sentence that cancels the letter if payment has already been made, with a request for proof of it.
- A reference to the agreement’s clause on the effect of late payment, without threats or hurtful language.
- The name of the person responsible and how to reach them, the signature and stamp, and the attachments.
To: Mr/Ms [Client name] (or: Messrs [Company name])
Address: Building No. [Building number], Street No. [Street number], Zone No. [Zone number], Doha, State of Qatar — Email: [Email address]
Subject: Demand for payment of overdue fee instalments under Fee Agreement No. [Agreement number] dated [Agreement date]
Dear Sir/Madam,
With reference to the fee agreement made between you and our office on [Agreement date] concerning [Subject of the agreement: the case number and court, or the legal service], we would like to inform you that the instalments set out below have fallen due and that we have not received payment of them as at the date of this letter:
| Instalment | Due date | Amount due | Paid | Remaining |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Instalment number] | [Due date] | [Amount] | [Amount paid] | [Amount remaining] |
| [Instalment number] | [Due date] | [Amount] | [Amount paid] | [Amount remaining] |
| Total (QAR) | — | [Total] | [Total] | [Total overdue] |
We therefore kindly ask you to pay the overdue amount of QAR [Amount in figures] ([Amount in words] Qatari riyals only) within [Number of days] days of receiving this letter, by one of the following means:
- Bank transfer to the office’s account with [Bank name], IBAN: [IBAN], quoting the agreement number in the transfer details.
- A cheque payable to [Office name as written on cheques].
- Payment at the office during working hours, against a receipt voucher.
If you have paid the amount before receiving this letter, please disregard it and send us proof of payment so that we can update your account. We attach your statement of account to date, and [Name of the person responsible] will be glad to answer any question about it on +974 [Phone number] or by email at [Email address].
Please note that Clause [Clause number] of the agreement governs the effect of late payment. We are keen to settle the matter amicably, so that the work on your file continues without interruption, while all the office’s rights are reserved.
Yours faithfully,
Attachments: statement of account to [Statement date] — copy of the fee agreement’s instalment schedule.
For a second demand after the deadline has passed, keep the same table, shorten the opening, and refer to this letter’s number and date.
How to fill in the template
Check the figures before writing
Produce the client’s statement of account and reconcile it with the receipt vouchers and the agreement’s instalment schedule. Make sure every instalment in the table has really fallen due and has not been paid, and do not include any instalment that is not yet due.
Check the timing with the lawyer in charge
Ask the lawyer in charge of the file whether there is an upcoming hearing or a sensitive stage in the case: they may prefer to call the client first, or to hold the letter back for a few days.
Fill in the table and the deadline
For each instalment, write its due date, its amount, what has been paid of it and what remains, then the total in figures and in words. Choose a reasonable payment deadline in days, and write the number of the clause in the agreement that governs the effect of late payment.
Send it by a channel that proves delivery
Send the letter through the channel the agreement approves for notices, such as the email address registered in it, or hand it over against a signature for receipt, and keep proof of sending, with its date, in the client’s file.
Follow up until the deadline ends
Note the date the deadline ends. If the amount is paid, issue the receipt voucher and let the client know it has arrived; if it is not, the next step is decided by the partner and the lawyer in charge, in line with the agreement.
Common mistakes
- Demanding amounts that are not yet due, or that have been paid but not yet recorded, which shakes the client’s trust in the office’s accounts.
- Threatening language, or details of the case, in a letter that the client’s staff may read.
- Stating the effect of late payment without going back to the wording of the agreement, or hinting at a step the agreement does not allow.
- Sending the letter to an email address or number other than the one approved in the agreement, so its delivery cannot be proved.
- Not attaching the statement of account, so the client asks for the details and payment slips by another week.
Issue this document from your office’s data
In Murafe, overdue instalments appear on the “Contract instalments” page alongside those falling due within 7 or 30 days, and the “Financial summary” shows what is overdue and what falls due within 30 days, so the accountant knows who needs a letter before the arrears build up. The system sends clients reminders of instalments falling due automatically, according to the settings, and the client can be contacted from “Messages & notifications” by WhatsApp or email, using a template or a free-text message, with every message logged with its status. The client’s statement of account prints on the office’s letterhead or saves as a PDF to attach to the letter, and if their financial account is shown to them in the client portal, they can see for themselves what is due now and how much of it is overdue.