Why We Charge a Consultation Fee
Many ask why some attorneys charge for a consultation and some don’t? We can’t speak for others, but for IGC, this decision is driven by the type of conversation the attorney and client can have during their first meeting. Read on for further details:
Our consultation meeting is an in-depth assessment of facts and legal analysis applicable to your case. Our consultation is a learning opportunity as we get to the heart of the matter in the first meeting. We often review documents prior to the consultation. We find out about your case’s specific history, present and future. We provide legal opinions (based on the evidence and facts available at the time). We find out what your immigration goals are and strategize with you on how to achieve them. We apply ourselves and our knowledge wholeheartedly to you and your matter during the consultation. And in our eyes, having this type of conversation requires not only our time but our dedication, preparation and professional skills, all of which have value and should be paid for.
The Consultation is with the attorney who will work on your case. During the consultation, clients have close to an hour to interview the attorney and learn about their work style, expertise and professionalism. The consultation will not be spent with a client engagement director (or some other fancy title for a sales person) but with the firm’s attorneys with expertise in handling your case. Even before the consultation, the attorney will have spent some time learning and thinking about the facts of your case (provided you complete the intake questionnaire we send) prior to the consultation.
The Consultation is not a sales pitch. We don’t want to spend our time on pressured sales pitches cloaked in general, non-fact specific conversations about legal topics. The value information acquired in free consultations, i.e., attorney sales pitches, is equivalent to that available on search websites and you can access that level of general information through research.
We want to focus on prospective clients serious about hiring a professional to handle their legal matter. A person should go through several phases of information collecting before making their decision on how to proceed. We believe you should first do research and gather freely available information. You should study it and note your questions. And then you should seek professional assistance. Many clients who call our office and are reluctant to pay a consultation fee are the initial stages of their research and information gathering. That’s ok and these individuals are not ready for the in-depth conversation we’re looking forward to have.
We feel strongly that charging a consultation fee is the best approach for our firm. We are committed to protecting our time and expertise so we can give our clients the attention they deserve and expect, while also balancing our business development goals. So yes, we recognize that some prospective clients will choose not to schedule a consultation with us because of the fee. And that’s ok with us.