Secrets of a divorce attorney: Why a free consultationisn�t worth the money - Oakland women and money

I came across an article recently that purported to give advice on how to select a divorce attorney.One of the bits of advice was that most "reputable" attorneys will offer a free consultation. I wasstunned to hear this, as I think the precise opposite! In addition, this is a critical issue for women inOakland, as there are so many attorneys to choose from when getting a divorce that it can seemimpossible to make a choice. Finances are always an issue, so muddling though the myriad ofoptions can be daunting.

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The free consultation from the divorce attorney is a loss leader, which means that it's free becausethe attorney is looking for the potential client to pay the big bucks at the end of the consultation. Inaddition, the attorney doesn't offer anything of value to the potential client during the freeconsultation.

Remember, you get what you pay for!

Many attorneys offer a free or reduced-costconsultation and the appointment goes like this: thepotential client arrives and fills out some paperwork,finishing after about 10-15 minutes. Then s/he waitsanother 5-10 minutes, so the actual appointmentstarts at least 15 minutes into the alloted "hour."The attorney, naturally, want to know what's goingon, so the potential client spends at least 20-30minutes - often this is closer to 45 minutes - tellingtheir "story" to the attorney. So, at this point, it'sbeen 45 minutes to an hour, and the attorney hasyet to *do* anything but sit and listen. At the end ofthe consultation, the attorney says, well, yes. I canhelp you with that. And the retainer will be $10,000.Or $5,000. Or $20,000. So the potential client has

paid nothing to get nothing but a very high retainer quote, and the client has (unless s/he has themoney) wasted an hour or so of time.

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Is that worth it? Are these the practices of a "reputable" attorney?

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A paid consultation can be more worthwhile, as they tend to be a little longer and involve moreattorney advice and counsel. Often, the intake sheet is sent in advance, and the "hour" spent is reallyan hour.

Another option is a Family Law Coach,who takes your story ahead of time (!) in

the form of documents, email, faxes, a letter, etc., has the intake form completed in advance, andspends most of the full hour giving YOU real advice that you can use now. Yes, the consultationcosts, but you get what you pay for.

Which would you choose?

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