Your advice is always worth something

Look, friends, colleagues and others, a licensed, practicing lawyer knows a lot of valuable information. Sure, much of what they know is freely available on the Internet, at Legalzoom, Justia or Google. But how that information affects a person's life, business or money can't usually be determined by the average person.

Legal training makes it possible for a lawyer to determine what information actually matters in a situation, and how to make that info work. That skill is worth paying for and, above all, charging for.

All the information knowable about the workings of a modern automobile is published in shop manuals. Does that mean getting a car problem diagnosed or repaired is, or should be, free? Of course not. How about a pain in the back? There are diagnostic websites, anatomy texts, all the substance of modern medicine available to anyone with an internet connection. Does that mean a medical diagnosis should be had for nothing? Again, the answer is obvious.

The same is true for legal problems. Any person who has ever had a cold can tell if someone else has one. How many people can suggest a case of adverse possession off the top of their head?  Only a lawyer would know.

Please value your education, experience and training. If attorneys keep giving away "free initial consultations" they devalue every other piece of advice they may give, as well as the advice and effort of other lawyers, everywhere.

Good legal advice is worth paying for, and price tells clients that they are getting something of value. Be valuable from the moment you start listening to a set of facts.