From time to time you may have a situation which would require the opportunity to speak with a lawyer, but not really the need to hire a lawyer on an ongoing basis. It presents a little bit of a conundrum. Since you have no intention of hiring an attorney, it is not really something that should be part of a “free consultation”. There is also no need to enter into a retainer agreement. As such, this is not an area with which we attorneys deal particularly well. You are merely looking for somebody to talk to, but as Abraham Lincoln pointed out “a lawyer’s time and advice are his stock in trade”. In other words, time really is money, but talk is not cheap.
Recently I had three different people come to see me with fairly intricate legal questions. Each one took up roughly half an hour of my time. None of them need to hire a lawyer now, nor did they come in planning to hire me. It is possible that one or two of them may need a lawyer in the future.
These sorts of cases have always presented a conundrum for me. In all three cases, these were former clients. I usually do not mind speaking with somebody I know for a few minutes about some minor issue. I had a free five (5) minute chat with a former client today. However, these were all intricate legal issues in which I gave my clients something of significant value to them. All were confused about what they should be doing and all left my office knowing at least the next step or two in the process. In one of the cases, they knew everything that they needed to do. They also took up a fair amount of my time, and my time is something to which I attach a lot of value. After the first two meetings, my clients actually asked me “how much do I owe you?” In both cases I said ‘what do you think is fair’, and in both cases they said one hundred dollars. At the end of my third meeting I simply said to the client ‘if you do not mind, I would appreciate it if you would give me one hundred dollars. I have helped you and you have been talking to me for a while’. The client quickly gave me a hundred dollars and frankly looked relieved.
On the other hand, I had two other people come in that same week. Each came in intending to hire me. I wound up sending both of them away. In both cases, I wish they had come to see me before they had done things, even if they were not yet prepared to hire me. One case was a landlord tenant matter for a person whom I know extremely well, and the other was a stranger who came to hire me to file bankruptcy. In the landlord tenant case, the client figured she would save a couple of dollars by doing the notice to quit by herself. She did it wrong, so that thirty days is lost and she will have to re-serve a new notice. More importantly, she was in a situation in which bringing a matter in the Housing Court at this time would not be a good idea. I would have counseled her not to serve that notice to quit when she did. It is possible that when the time is right to bring this eviction, her notice to quit is going to be a problem. Beyond that, I would prefer not to get into the details.
The bankruptcy case was even more tragic. The client did get some advice before seeing me, but it was extraordinarily bad advice. A “friend” advised her to take money out of her 401(k) to pay off one of her cars, and to give the car away to a person very close to her. She was advised to wait six months before seeing an attorney. Unfortunately, what she did could be construed to be a criminal act. It would likely be construed to be “substantial abuse” of the bankruptcy system and she would be at extreme risk of losing her discharge. The Trustee would most assuredly seek to get that car back. There would be nothing I could do to protect this other person, and I would not be able to get any of the money that comes from the sale of the car for the potential client. I warned her that if she shops around, she might be able to find a lawyer that would file this petition for her, but it would be a huge mistake. If she finds a lawyer who would file this petition on these facts, then she has found a lawyer who really does not understand bankruptcy at a time when she will be in desperate need of a great bankruptcy lawyer.
Based upon these experiences, I have decided to do something that I do not normally do. I am now formally making myself available for half hour consultations in matters where I may or may not be retained in the future. I will be charging $150.00 for up to one half hour, and $100.00 for up to fifteen minutes. When the consultation is over, my involvement will also be over. If you do need to hire me later, I will apply that $150.00 to the service where appropriate. For example, had this last client consulted me about bankruptcy, which is an area where I have fixed fees, and then came back later to file a bankruptcy petition after not messing up in the way that she did, then I would apply that $150.00 to the bankruptcy. This essentially would become the “free legal consultation”. I think that this meets a need that is clearly out there for people to be able to consult with an attorney and get quality legal advice, while allowing me to protect my “stock in trade”. I will try to be proactive about warning people. However, I also feel that this creates a situation where people can feel comfortable coming to see me without feeling that they are being exploitive. As I mentioned about the third client who paid me, she actually seemed relieved that this was being done in a business-like way and that things were fair to both parties. By the way, for anyone curious about why $150.00 and not $100.00, there are two reasons for that. One, the $150.00 better reflects my normal hourly rate.Two, in those other cases, these were previous clients and there was no upfront discussion about fees. As such, I was a little uncomfortable about taking anything, but did understand that $100.00 would seem “fair” under the circumstances.