Initial Consultation Policy

As I state elsewhere in this blog, one of my goals in maintaining this blog is to encourage readers with legal issues to contact me for an initial consultation to potentially be their attorney.  However, over the years a number of questions have come up about these initial consultations, and rather than address them on a case by case basis, I wanted to go ahead and spell out my policy on initial consultations and post it here.

So, there are two important things to remember here.  First, I am not self-employed, I do work for a firm and do have responsibilities to that firm.  Second, our initial consultations are free for up to half an hour.  These two things mean I have to be able to justify to my firm the fact that I am giving you the unbilled time in our consultation.  As a result, my initial consultations are limited to potential clients only.  If you just have a few questions, but are not planning to retain me (or are unable to retain me for any reason), then please leave a comment on the relevant blog post (though you my want to read my blog's comment policy first) or e-mail me the questions (my e-mail address is sleven@thebaldwinlawfirm.com).  This allows me to respond on my own time, instead of the firm's time, and is something I do fairly frequently to interact with people who read this blog but do not plan to retain my services.  However, be aware that your e-mail to me does not create an attorney-client relationship, and as you would not be a potential client, your e-mail would not be protected by attorney-client privilege.

So, how do you know if you are a potential client, such that I can give you a full initial consultation?  Well, you need to meet the following criteria:

• Your case is located in Northern Virginia (specifically, Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun or Prince William Counties or the Cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas or Manassas Park).  If your case is located in a jurisdiction that borders Northern Virginia (for example, Fauquier County), then you may also qualify depending on the nature of your case.  We do handle some cases outside of Northern Virginia or the near-in borders (I've had a case as far away as Danville before, for example), but that's rare and on a case by case basis.  If you aren't sure where your case is located, or if it is not located in Northern Virginia but you think it might be one I would handle anyways, shoot me an e-mail before scheduling your consult.
• You are honestly considering hiring an attorney (you are on the honor system for this one).
• You intend to pay for your attorney (if you are seeking pro bono representation, e-mail me and I can either refer you to the relevant legal services organization, or determine if I can fit you into my pro bono hours, but I can't offer you a consultation up front).
• Your case is in a field of practice that I or my firm handles (if you're not sure, feel free to shoot me an e-mail to ask).
• You are not aware of any conflict of interest that would prevent me from representing you.

If your case meets those five conditions, then you can schedule an initial consultation without contacting me first.  If you don't, you'll need to e-mail me first to see if your case meets an exception to allow me to offer you the consultation.  If I cannot offer you a consultation, as stated above, I still may be able to respond to your questions on my own time if you shoot me an e-mail or leave a comment on the blog post - just understand that what I tell you in those circumstances will be generalized legal information, not specific legal advice.

As a final note, if you do want to hire an attorney, but cannot hire me, you can certainly e-mail me to ask for a referral - just let me know the basics of what your case is about and where your case is located and I should be able to get back to you within a day or two with a couple of referrals.