The world's worst professional services invoice

In today's New York Times, a front-page article in the Business section concerns the legal difficulties of famed plaintiff's lawyer Richard Scruggs, one of the authors of the multi-billion dollar settlement with the tobacco companies. What caught my eye was the above invoice, sent to Scruggs (or "Dickie") by PL Blake, a figure in the case.

There is little or nothing tangible exchanged in a professional services transaction. Therefore, the invoice is normally constructed to give comfort to the payer (and its auditor) that the vendor delivered appropriate and valuable services in exchange for the payment.

Given the large amount due and the, say, haphazard way it was put together, invoice #856 sets a new low in the practice.

I wonder what his tax return looked like?

professional services, invoicing, law, New York Times