Our firm will handle any commercial or non-commercial collection if it appears there is a reasonable chance for the collection to be successful or there appears to be the ability to attach a judgment lien to a parcel of real property owned by the debtor.

If a person or business owes you money, you have a right to collect. If you have a written agreement which provides for the payment of fees and costs, you should be able to collect those as well. In the event the debtor is "judgment proof", it may not be wise to throw good money after bad, or in other words, cut your losses.

If it appears that the money owed is collectable, a choice must be made regarding where and in what court the lawsuit should be filed. If the amount is relatively small, the choice should be a "Small Claims" Court, which can be filed and processed without the involvement of attorneys. In fact, in most Small Claims Courts, attorneys cannot appear. If you obtain a judgment in Small Claims Court, you may need the assistance of an attorney to actually collect that judgment.

If the amount of the debt owed is larger, the choice of courts will vary by jurisdiction and may be the District or Superior Court (Circuit Court in the State of Oregon). Generally, the size of the claim and the residence of the debtor will govern this decision.

Obtaining a judgment may be easy. Collecting it may be very difficult. In some cases, collections may be handled on a contingent fee basis. However, most collections are handled on an hourly basis or some combination of fixed and contingent fee. The fee basis will depend on many factors, including the dollar value of the debt or judgment to be collected, and the apparent collectability of the debt. The cost of collection should be determined at the time of your first meeting with your attorney.