Jared and I discuss one of our favorite topics – the Initial Consultation. While the goal is to get a new client, what you are trying to accomplish is multi-layered and it changes over the course of your legal career. This is a podcast to bookmark and keep referring to over and over, again. Listen and learn.
The audio is 36 minutes. Listen directly below.
Jared has written a new book called “Twitter in One Hour for Lawyers“. You can learn more about the book or purchase it from the American Bar Association.
Jared D. Correia, Esq. is the CEO of Red Cave Law Firm Consulting, which offers subscription-based law firm business management consulting and technology services for solo and small law firms. Red Cave also works with legal institutions and legal-facing corporations to develop programming and content. A former practicing attorney, Jared has been advising lawyers and law firms for over a decade. He is a regular presenter at local, regional and national events, including ABA TECHSHOW. He regularly contributes to legal publications, including his column, ‘Managing,’ for Attorney at Work and a forthcoming advice column for Lawyerist. Jared is the author of the American Bar Association publication ‘Twitter in One Hour for Lawyers’. He is the host of the Legal Toolkit podcast on Legal Talk Network. Jared also teaches for Concord Law School, Suffolk University Law School and Solo Practice University. He loves James Taylor, but respects Ron Swanson; and, he tries to sneak Rolos when no one is looking.
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I listened to part of this podcast. Then I had to leave for a conference call. I disagree that we should not have a consultation if the client is already pre disposed to hire us. We still have to talk to the client before we commit ourselves and make sure they are a good fit. We have to also feel comfortable with the clients. It is not a one way commitment. I practice family law. A large part of what family law lawyers do is manage client expectations. For that purpose alone, an initial consultation is important.
If I get a good feeling about the client, I sometimes have offered to read the court file and use the consultation fee towards that time, rather than to continue the consultation. But I cannot determine that until I have at least spoken to the potential client.
Randi, great comment and observation. I don’t disagree. The main point was today’s consumer is predisposed to hiring you before they even make the appointment unlike years ago where the lawyer had to educate and make their pitch during an initial consultation. True, you, the lawyer, have to decide if they are a good fit for you. However, once in a great while the opportunity presents itself to bypass the consultation entirely depending upon the circumstances and lawyers should not be afraid of eliminating the traditional initial consultation as it is no longer sacrosanct.