A little diddy about prospective clients

One of the joys (I use the term sarcastically) of being a lawyer is screening prospective clients. There are different ways firms do this. Some use paralegals, some use associates--some have complicated forms and checklists and others are more informal. Or, you could be as lucky as my firm, and not need new clients at all, because you have more than enough (and probably too much) business from existing clients and former clients. Well, that is not entirely true. I still screen a lot of call-ins looking for a good pro bono case or perhaps a personal injury case that is worth exploring.

With that introduction, here is what I have learned about many people. They usually wait too long to call a lawyer. They don't want to spend money on a lawyer and think they can handle it themselves or it will just go away. Common example: credit card debt that has been reduced to a judgment (usually default because the debtor never answers the complaint). When they get a writ of garnishment and their paychecks suddenly take a dive is usually the first time I hear from them. At that point, in most cases, it is probably too late.

Another favorite is deals among friends and family. They love each other/are best friends, so there is no need for a contract for that $150,000 that they are investing in the new business. And in most cases, that business is a sure deal--a moneymaker. There is absolutely no way a typewriter store will fail! So, when that typewriter store does fail, and someone is out $150,000, well then they come to the lawyers. And, oh boy, is that a mess! It is good business for lawyers (messy cases cost more), but clients hate it (messy cases cost more).

This is one of the first things you realize as a lawyer--people will wait until the last minute to call you and when they finally do it is either past the point of no return or so messy it will probably cost more to fix than it does to just walk away. I wonder why we can't convince people it is better to talk to lawyers sooner.