I read an interesting depiction of a disagreement between an attorney and a potential client on bayarea.com, as was handily pointed out to me by myshingle.com.
It is a story about an individual who refused to pay the $35 admin fee for a lawyer referral service (because he felt that there weren't any qualified attorneys participating with that service). The individual was referred to an attorney (for free) who reviewed the matter with the individual and indicated that there would be $25,000 retainer to handle the legal matter. The individual then claims that he should have recieved legal advice as to how to handle his case during the 30 minute initial consultation.
Unrealistic expectations.
How can an attorney answer all of your questions (with one simple "yes" or "no"), and solve all of your legal problems in the initial consultation? And for free?
It just isn't possible (except in very rare circumstances).
To a large extent, the initial consultation fee can serve the purpose of screening out those persons who want to meet for the purpose of meeting... want to talk to an attorney for the purpose of saying that they talked with an attorney... and who are otherwise not really serious about dealing with their legal matter in a reasonable way.
Had the legal referral service administrator, in the case above, taken the hint and closed the conversation when the potential client refused to pay the $35 admin fee, this blooming exchange would not have occurred.
