What should I think about when choosing a lawyer?
The attorney-client relationship is about trust. You have to be able to trust your lawyer, because your lawyer represents you and is the driver of your case. If you hire me, you get my full attention. I will never demand that you sign documents that you are unsure about signing. I will always give you time to think over decisions in your case.
What are some Red Flags to watch out for in meeting with attorneys?
In picking a lawyer, there are several red flags to look out for, warning signs that the attorney may not have your best interest at heart:
who "promises" or "guarantees" specific results,
who wants you to sign documents that you don't understand,
who stops responding to you,
who refuses to let you have access to your own case file,
and who wants you to sign things or make decisions on the spot, without giving you time to think
Your case is extremely important to you, and it should be important to your lawyer as well. Remember, if your case becomes a formal lawsuit filed in court, a record of the legal papers filed on your behalf will become public record, meaning that members of the public will be able to access them. And, once a lawsuit is filed, another lawsuit cannot be brought for the same claims against the same employer. You want to make sure that the person representing you is competent and trustworthy enough to get the job done in a professional and effective manner.
What do you charge?
I do not usually charge an hourly fee for my work, unless I have concerns about the viability of your claim and you’ve chosen to hire me anyways. (Employment contract or severance offer review is billed hourly.) Instead, if we both decide to enter into an attorney-client relationship, we will reach an agreement about what portion of your winnings I will receive at the end of your case. This is called a "contingency fee," because my payment is contingent on the success of your case. This means that if you don't receive anything from your case, neither do I. If your case is resolved before a lawsuit is filed, I usually charge 33% of any recovery, plus any out-of-pocket costs that I spent on your case. If a lawsuit is filed in your case, I charge 40% of any recovery, plus costs, because of the difficulty, stress, and complexity of filing and pursuing a lawsuit in court or arbitration. (Some attorneys charge 40% even if a lawsuit is never filed in your case. I do not do that. If your case settles before we have to file in court, I give you a discounted rate of 33%.)
In addition, though, I ask those who can afford it to pay me a one-time, non-refundable fee. I do not charge this to people making less than $85,000/year. Why do I charge this fee? It can take months for a case to resolve, meaning that I’m working for months without getting paid, often while paying out of pocket for filing fees, depositions, and mediator fees. I’ve found that a preliminary fee helps me feel less drained, which is good for everyone. I charge a higher preliminary fee for cases that require a very quick turnaround.
Can a client ever fire her lawyer? Can a lawyer choose to stop representing a client?
When you hire a lawyer, you and the lawyer enter into an agreement, which means that both sides have to come to an understanding about how the relationship will proceed. If you decide that you no longer want to be represented by your attorney, it is your right to end the attorney-client relationship. At the same time, if an attorney believes that she cannot continue the attorney-client relationship, she can also choose to end the relationship, so long as the case is not "prejudiced" as a result. (This means that the attorney can't leave you in the lurch the night before your trial is set to begin, for example.) The most common reason that I have seen an attorney drop a client is because the client stops responding to communications or if it is discovered that the client lied about critical details of the case.
Have you ever fired a client?
Generally, I’ve been very lucky in my relationships with clients. “Firing” a client is not a decision I take lightly and it will not come as a shock. You will be given a very clear warning that the relationship is falling apart before I decide that I have no choice but to ask you to find a new lawyer.
I have had to stop representing clients who refused massive settlement offers. If I’ve gotten you an offer that I truly believe is fair, it’s time to take it so that I can also get paid for my time. My job is to make you money. When you turn down a massive offer, you’re also turning down my portion of it, and that hurts. If we are working together before a lawsuit is filed and you’ve turned down what I believe is a fair offer (not an unreasonably low, insulting offer), I will very likely refuse to take your case forward to a lawsuit, but you are absolutely free to continue the legal process with another lawyer. I will work cooperatively with your next lawyer and I will not prejudice your case by talking trash about you. If it doesn’t work out between us because our view of the case’s worth is very different, I want you to find a lawyer who sees your case the way you do. Other lawyers typically demand payment if the case ultimately settles with another lawyer. I haven’t felt the need to do that yet. If it didn’t work out, it didn’t work out. I did what I could and I wish you the best of luck! Yes, I find these instance draining, but there is no ill-will. Some work out, some don’t.
I have also had to drop clients who insist on extremely frequent, repetitive phone calls in which my time is not being respected. I’m talking 40-minute calls every other day. It just doesn’t work like that, unless you want to pay an hourly fee ($500) for me to go over the same worries with you for the fourth time. I try to be caring and patient, but I cannot replace a therapist or the ear of a good friend. That’s not why I’m here and it drains me. I give clients one very clear warning that they are exhausting me with repetitive calls before I terminate the relationship. One way to avoid this? Text me instead!
Finally, in a couple of very rare instances, I have had to drop clients who were incredibly rude to me. I fully understand that this is a very stressful process at a terrible time in a client’s life. But if I need to be reminded of a quick fact, name, or date and you respond by lashing out at me, we’re done. Examples of this are, “omg! how many times do I have to tell you!?” or “Jesus, how hard could this possibly be!? Just file the lawsuit! Anyone can do it.” I need clients who understand that the process of drafting a forty page lawsuit is incredibly complex and strategic. The decision on which claims to include is incredibly fraught and has profound consequences for the type of information the other side can demand of you. If you want a lawyer who just dumps blocks of copy-paste text into a thoughtless, boilerplate document, I’m not the lawyer for you. Period. And, because of that, I need my effort to be respected.
Can’t you just look at my papers and give me advice for free?
Nope.