We need to think as a society how we deal with this issue and the imbalance between legal needs and legal affordability. Breaking our services into smaller bites is not often going to solve the problem.

I am a legal virtual assistant and work with solo practitioners and law firms of all sizes. I can tell you that I am scheduling client after client for “free consultation” appointments, only to have them opt out of retaining an attorney because they cannot afford the legal fees. I am also seeing an increase in potential clients requesting a free consultation in order to get advice on how to represent themselves.

I was at a luncheon last month and heard comments from a group of legal professionals, the gist of which was “If they [the client] can’t afford it, then they need to go elsewhere for legal representation”. Is this a “head in the sand” approach? I think so. What they fail to realize is that NOBODY CAN AFFORD IT TODAY and the client WILL go elsewhere.

Normal Joe is working two to three jobs, and so is Normal Joe’s wife, and they are still falling short on their bills and mortgage. Normal Joe has to go Pro Se, not because he wants to, because he cannot afford to do otherwise. When that happens, Normal Joe obviously does not have proper legal representation, and his inexperience affects opposing counsel, the court system, paralegals, Judges, etc. Everyone has to put in extra time and attention to assist Normal Joe with his case.

Considering unbundled services, specific task billing, and/or collaborative billing makes sense. If these billing practices were used more often, Normal Joe would be able to afford an attorney, and that attorney would reap the rewards of Normal Joe’s referrals. Not a bad deal these days, right?

Thank you for your article.

Pam Hunter

You hit the nail on the head. This is the reality and solos service this sector. It’s not all doom and gloom, though. It is, however, a huge societal shift and I’m going to follow up with how things are changing in our everyday lives and how we should change with them.

I’m not one for head in the sand. I am an optimistic realist. Tell me what’s going on and I can take the proper actions to navigate. And it’s critical in business and solos are running a professional service business and we can’t ever forget it!

Reading it was almost analogous to stepping on the scale. You dread what you are going to see, but it is necessary to evaluate a course of action.