Flat Fee · Attorney Signed · Statutory Leverage
A demand letter with the Freelance Isn't Free Act behind it.
Double damages and fee-shifting, spelled out on law firm letterhead.
Any lawyer can ask a client to pay. A demand letter under the Freelance Isn't Free Act does something sharper: it shows the client, in writing, that stalling on your invoice now risks double the amount plus both sides' attorney's fees. Hochman Law PC drafts and signs these letters for a flat fee through DemandLetterNY.
Provided through DemandLetterNY.com, a service of Hochman Law PC.
Why this letter lands differently.
NY GEN. BUS. LAW ART. 44-A · PRE-LITIGATION DEMAND
A generic "please remit payment" letter asks. A Freelance Isn't Free Act letter calculates. Under the statewide Act, a client who fails to pay a covered freelancer on time can be liable for the unpaid fee, an equal amount in double damages, and the freelancer's reasonable attorney's fees and costs. The letter lays that arithmetic on the table: your $5,000 invoice is now a potential $10,000 judgment plus fees. For a business with a lawyer of its own, the advice it gets back is almost always the same: pay the invoice.
What the letter contains.
- The facts, stated like a pleading. Who hired whom, the agreed scope and fee, delivery of the work, the due date, and the failure to pay.
- The statutory claims. The specific Freelance Isn't Free Act violations (late or nonpayment, missing written contract where applicable, any unlawful demand for a discount), plus companion claims like breach of contract and account stated.
- The exposure, itemized. Principal, double damages, statutory interest, and fee-shifting, so the total risk is a number, not an abstraction.
- A deadline and a path. A date certain to pay, payment instructions, and what happens if the deadline passes.
- An attorney's signature. On law firm letterhead, which is the difference between correspondence and consequence.
Why the client's math changes.
Before the letter, ignoring you was free. After the letter, every option except payment costs more: defending a lawsuit costs their attorney's fees; losing costs double damages plus your fees on top of theirs; and delay accrues interest. Fee-shifting is the quiet killer, because it removes the client's usual comfort that a freelancer "won't bother suing over a few thousand dollars." Under this Act, a lawyer can afford to take the case, and the client knows it.
How it works, start to finish.
You answer a questionnaire online at DemandLetterNY.com and upload your invoice and key communications. A New York attorney reviews the facts, drafts the letter, signs it, and sends it. The fee is flat and stated before you pay anything. If the matter needs more than a letter, the firm says so plainly.
If the letter is ignored.
Most are not, but a letter is leverage, not a guarantee. If the deadline passes, you hold a documented, attorney-backed record of the demand, which strengthens the next step: small claims court or an administrative complaint. Nothing in the letter stage forfeits either path. Freelancers who never got a contract should start here: no written contract. Small businesses owed on B2B invoices have a parallel route: unpaid invoices for NY small businesses.
A flat-fee demand letter drafted and signed by a New York attorney often resolves it without a lawsuit. Start online at DemandLetterNY.com, a service of Hochman Law PC, or learn more about flat-fee demand letters.
Questions people ask us.
How much does the letter cost?
A flat fee, stated up front at demandletterny.com/pricing before you pay anything. No hourly billing, no retainer for the letter itself.
Will the client actually pay after receiving it?
Often, because the letter prices refusal: double damages plus fee-shifting makes fighting more expensive than paying. But no outcome can be guaranteed, and the letter preserves every next step if they refuse.
Does it matter that my client is outside New York City?
Not anymore. Since August 28, 2024, the Act applies statewide through GBL Article 44-A. See the full statewide guide.
What if we never signed a contract?
The written contract was the client's obligation under the Act, so the letter can cite that failure as an additional violation while your emails and invoices establish the terms. More: freelancers without a written contract.
One Firm, Every Case Below
Owed money or wronged another way? We handle that too.
Your invoice, doubled by statute. Tell them in writing.
A flat-fee attorney demand letter, started online in minutes.