The Truth About Free Consultations With Business Attorneys

What You Can Expect During a Free Consultation

The structure and content of a free consultation with a business lawyer will depend on whether the meeting is voluntary, or is part of a retainer agreement.
Where the consultation is requested by the client, the meeting usually begins with an introductory period during which the lawyer tries to establish a connection with the prospective client, learn about their business and gather relevant information. This discussion may touch on any previous legal issues, existing contracts and agreements, long-term objectives and future plans for the business. The lawyer will then usually try to identify some of the challenges that will need to be addressed and how these issues will affect the company. Time permitting, there may be a discussion of potential opportunities and legal strategies to take advantage of them .
For more urgent legal issues or limited-scope representation contained in a $500 retainer agreement, the introductory period may not be included in the consultation and the lawyer may proceed immediately to focussing on the issue at hand.
At this point, the lawyer may ask to review specific business records or other documents relevant to the matter at hand. This may include reviewing an independent contractor agreement, franchise agreement, retail operations manual, proprietary and confidential information protection contract, or other types of contracts. At the end of the free consultation, the business lawyer and business owner will decide if a formal retainer agreement is needed and if so, whether they will move forward with the matter at hand.

Pro’s and Con’s of a Free Legal Consultation

Having a free consultation is an opportunity for you to find out what your options are. You may want to know if there is a way to avoid a lawsuit or collect from a customer. A lawyer may be needed to form a new corporation, help with an acquisition or exit strategy, file a trademark, draft a software development agreement or other contract, or for something else entirely. It is a chance to determine whether or not legal help makes sense for you at that time.
You will also get a sense of the lawyer’s experience and expertise. Sometimes you want a lawyer who specializes in a specific area of the law and sometimes you want to know that you are working with a specialist in your industry. A consultation can give you a good idea of the lawyer’s level of experience with the type of issue you are facing, as well as whether or not they have experience with your industry.
A free consultation is also an opportunity to see whether you feel comfortable working with the lawyer. You should feel like you are being heard, that the lawyer has a genuine interest in solving your problem, and that you can build a long-term relationship. You should also feel confident that the lawyer has strong integrity and will not be wasteful of your time or money.

Getting Prepared for a Free Consultation

While every lawyer is going to have their own unique style, and different requirements for the documents they would like to see or the types of questions they want answered, there are general things you should know about how to prepare for a free consultation with a business lawyer.
The best thing to do before going into a consultation for a new business or any business-related legal issue is to write down all the documents that you have related to the situation, so that when you get to your free consultation with a business lawyer you can ask them what they want to see. Typically you are going to need to anticipate what types of contracts, licenses, or other documentation are related to the situation to bring them in because there are benefits to our attorney if they have had a chance to review the documents beforehand but it also helps you to be able to inform them exactly what legal issues you have. The key to this is being specific. For instance, you could simply say "I have a trademark" but the attorney is going to want to know exactly what you trademarked and where, such as if you have a trademark in the state of Michigan if you are only selling a product in Michigan. If you have trademarked a logo, for instance, bring in all the photographs and a copy of the trademark certificate. Bring in all the photographs showing how you use it in business. Bring in all of the information that you received from the USPTO or your foreign trademark office. Have all the original documents available to show them because that’s what’s going to give them the best idea of how your legal situation sits. You also want to be ready to explain to the attorney exactly how your legal situation arose and what you have had done law-wise in the past. If you have attempted a certain legal measure in the past and it failed, you want to know why it failed and providing details to the attorney will save both of you time and money.
Be prepared when going in for an initial consultation to ask questions to the attorney you’re meeting with and be prepared to get answers that you may not expect. Questions like "what is your fee?" or "what does this cost?" may be difficult to answer. You are likely going to get a response addressing the fact that the client does not know what is going to be necessary for the attorney to do, and so they are not going to know exactly what the bill is going to look like at the end. However, you can ask about their average retainer, what they charge on an hourly basis, and what other expenses might pop up. If you are going to incur fees to file a patent, for instance, you can get a fairly good estimate from those questions.
One thing that cannot be highlighted enough is the need for honesty in communicating with your attorney. Your lawyer is supposed to be your advocate, but if you are not being upfront with them about what’s going on then you’re not giving them a full view of what’s happening in the situation. We talk to effective businesspeople all the time who unfortunately don’t effectively communicate with their attorney and so they are charges with certain things that they were unaware of. Don’t allow this to happen to you. Tell the attorney exactly what has happened and be straightforward in explaining your legal situation. You need to understand that they are on your side. You’d be surprised how many lawyers are willing to move forward with a new case simply because they know there’s a problem that needs to be solved at the end. While you may not want to contact a lawyer if you have a simple matter, you are going to need to contact one if you do not understand what has happened or how to proceed in the best possible fashion.

Questions to Ask in a Free Consultation

There are many questions you can ask during your free initial consultation to help "interview" the lawyer and evaluate his or her experience in dealing with your specific type of issue. It is also helpful to understand the cost structure to be employed by the lawyer if you decide to retain that lawyer. Here are some recommended questions:
What is your experience as it relates to my matter?
While you may think to ask the lawyer for more generalized experience, such as how long has he or she practiced law (as a general matter of some vintage significantly greater than yours) or even where the lawyer went to school, the questions should be as specific as possible to your situation.
For example, if your matter is one involving the sale of a business, you may wish to ask if the lawyer has experience represented the seller or the buyer of a business, and what he or she experienced with that particular matter. Or if your matter is real estate related, does the lawyer have a focus on commercial, as opposed to residential real estate issues.
What is your cost structure?
It is not uncommon for lawyers to charge a different fee rate for different categories of work. For example , a lawyer may charge one rate for work done by associates and another rate for work done by partners. In addition, a lawyer will also charge different fee rates for different types of work. If you need writing or research to be done, your lawyer will typically charge a higher hourly rate that for the same lawyer to appear in court.
My firm, for example, charges a standard (flat or hourly) fee when it comes to transactional work and then charges a premium when it comes to litigation (i.e., litigation phrase from inception to completion). A litigator’s fee can vary significantly from a transactional lawyer with a similar level of experience and expertise.
Employees bill at different rates, such associate attorneys and partners. Also, there may be paralegals who perform more mundane or repetitive legal tasks at lower billing rates.
Very briefly describe the solution you may envision for my case?
Here you are looking to understand:
The above are all factors that you should be able to find out in a free initial consultation. While the specifics of how much you charge can be adjusted (and you can negotiate relatively freely up and down within defined limits), clients should have a very good idea as to whether they want to work with you or not.

Downside To Free Legal Consultations

Although there are a number of benefits to meet prospective lawyers, the fact is that free consultations have limitations. While some lawyers may use these free meetings to "sell" a prospective client on why they should hire this attorney, the reality is that lawyers may not feel comfortable giving specific advice at the initial meeting for ethical reasons.
The other reality is that these initial free consultations usually take 30 minutes or even less. It is very difficult to explain all of the intricacies of a legal matter in that short of a time. Unless the prospective client has a few specific questions in mind, it very well may be that these consultations end up being more "free legal advice" sessions rather than giving the potential client information about his or her legal rights and how the lawyer may be able to assist with the client’s legal issues.
Unfortunately, because many of these consultations do end up being "free legal advice" sessions, many prospective clients often don’t follow-up with hiring an attorney after this initial meeting. While I can understand their reasoning behind not hiring an attorney because they are looking for someone who can really help solve their problems, what they don’t realize is the ethical and practical reasons for how these free consultation meetings usually have to be run.
Further, the limit free consultations may place on what a business lawyer may go through with you. These types of consultations can usually only address generalities; they are often not able to go into details about a particular situation or legal issue. I can tell you the general law about something at a free consulting session; I just can’t be absolutely specific about how the law applies to your exact facts.
There are actually many potential reasons for these limitations when I meet with a prospective client and some of them go beyond just the ethical and practical limitations of a real estate attorney having to worry about running out of time during a free initial consultation. I can’t go into detail on all of these issues, but I think the rest of the issues I flag here give a good idea of the general reason for the limitations on these consultations.

How to Find a Business Attorney for a Free Consultation

The easiest way to find a qualified business lawyer offering free consultations is by asking people you know for a referral. Family members, friends, and business associates are good starting points. If you can’t find a referral from someone you know, resources such as Martindale-Hubbell, Bar Associations, and online lawyer directories can be useful. Before choosing a business lawyer for a free consultation, be sure to review the firm’s website and read online reviews. Consultation requests can also be made by contacting the State Bar of Michigan by telephone or online. Regardless , it is important to research the qualifications of any lawyer who offers you a free consultation before deciding whether to go elsewhere or proceed with that lawyer. Ask about the lawyer’s credentials in this context. Inquire as to how much of their practice is focused on business law. Find out how long the lawyer has been practicing. Ask how many similar types of cases the lawyer has handled. If there will be a fee for the services you are seeking, simply ask how much it will be for that particular legal service. Choosing the right business lawyer for a free consultation will help increase the odds of success if you need to seek more extensive services in the future. Good luck!