I think we're talking about different things. I too do my best to weed out potentially troublesome clients. But when a larger group of people have a "body of

I think we're talking about different things. I too do my best to weed out potentially troublesome clients. But when a larger group of people have a "body of work" they're responsible for, that's the sort of hierarchy I would expect. In the long run, though, I think (in an open market system) always turning down hard cases (for example referrals from peers, or people who specifically seek you out for your expertise) can negatively affect your reputation. In the end I might call it a wash because the person who is truly trying to do the least amount of work for the most personal benefit wouldn't try to stand out by finishing their work substantially faster than their peers or charging substantially less. So you probably lose a lot of the marketing benefit of out performing your peers since your ideal scenario will be to remain hidden in the pack. And by doing, it seems reasonable to assume people won't be trying to knock down your door to get you to do work for them like someone who is accepting the more challenging work and doing so successfully.