Free Legal Consultations—Are They Worth It?

What no one is telling you (and why it matters)

When we explain that Legal HD sessions are paid, we sometimes hear a version of the same thing from the skeptical consumer:

"Why pay for a consultation when I can get one for free?"

"Isn't a free consultation enough to get what I need?"

Fair questions. Who doesn't want something for free? A free consultation sounds great in theory, but here's the part that often goes unsaid: A free legal consultation isn't usually built to give you legal advice.

In this post, we'll look at what a free consultation actually is, why it often leaves people without the guidance they came for, and how a standalone legal advice and counsel session is something entirely different.

What a Free Consultation Really Is (and Isn't)

Many people assume a free legal consultation is a chance to talk to a lawyer and get their questions answered, but that's not usually what it is. Under the traditional model of legal practice, the free legal consultation is a business development and screening mechanism. Its job is to help the law firm decide whether to take on the matter and represent the prospective client.

Here's how it typically plays out:

You give basic details about your situation or issue.
The law firm representative asks questions to gauge whether the case fits the firm's model, is likely to be a money maker, and whether you, as the prospective client, are someone the law firm thinks would be a good client to work with.
If there is no fit, the consultation will end, often with a vague, "We'll get back to you," which may be followed by an email politely declining to take on your matter.
If there is a fit, you're often offered, right on the spot, a full engagement, which can mean you will need to make a retainer payment in addition to signing a lengthy fee contract, but you will not have received what motivated you to do the consultation in the first place – get legal advice.

Key point: A free legal consultation is built mainly to help a law firm decide whether to take on your legal matter and represent you. That's a legitimate business function, but it isn't the same thing as sitting down with a lawyer to get advice on your situation. Also, take note that the above points about the free legal consultation did not indicate that you would actually meet with a lawyer. This is because these types of traditional law practice model meetings are sometimes not even conducted by an attorney.

What People Actually Want When They Reach Out to a Lawyer

When someone reaches out to a lawyer, they're usually after a few simple things:

To understand where they potentially stand, legally — their basic rights and options;
Practical advice about what direction they might consider heading (as opposed to a sales pitch for a traditional law practice engagement); and
A read on whether a traditional full scope representation is something they should be considering (and how they might find the right lawyer to represent them if a traditional full scope representation should be considered).

A free legal consultation isn't generally set up to deliver any of the preceding things, because its purpose is to develop business, not to answer questions or work through your concerns. That's what leaves people frustrated and still wondering what to do.

Key point: If you want legal advice rather than a sales pitch for a traditional legal engagement, a free legal consultation won't often meet your expectation.

What "Free" Can Actually Cost You

Free doesn't always mean useful. You might pay nothing up front and still lose hours — or days — trying to get actual legal advice.

The runaround. People often book several free legal consultations and come away from all of them without guidance, because that's not what they're set up to provide.
The delay. You might wait days or weeks for a free legal consultation, only to learn the law firm can't or won't take on your matter (or even just answer your questions), leaving you with a sense of rejection because your matter wasn't accepted and a sense of frustration because you still have the same unanswered questions and concerns.
No path forward. A free legal consultation might end with you knowing whether a firm wants to represent you, yet no clearer on what you should actually do next or what your options are (other than signing up for a traditional legal engagement).

Key point: A free legal consultation may not cost money, but it can cost time, stall your decision, and leave you no closer to knowing where you stand.

How a Standalone Legal Advice & Counsel Session Is Different

A standalone legal advice and counsel session is built around a different purpose. It isn't a business development tool to decide whether you or your legal matter is worth taking on. It is time with an attorney to talk through your situation and get what you are looking for — legal advice and counsel.

No screening. A standalone legal advice and counsel session is about you and your situation, not about whether a law firm wants to represent you for a traditional engagement.
No commitment. You don't have to engage a law firm for a traditional engagement — the standalone session stands on its own.
No runaround. You talk directly to a lawyer and get legal advice and counsel in the session itself.

Key point: A standalone legal advice and counsel session puts the focus where you wanted it in the first place — on advising you, not evaluating you or selling you on a traditional legal engagement.

"But I Don't Want to Pay If I Don't Have To"

Fair. No one likes paying for something they think they can get for free. But it's worth asking what you're likely to get with a free legal consultation:

Is it really free if you leave the consultation without advice?
How much time goes into bouncing between free legal consultations before you realize none of them is set up to help?
If you end up deciding what to do without ever getting advice, was the free consultation the bargain it looked like?

A standalone legal advice and counsel session is a different thing entirely. It is time set aside with an attorney to talk through your situation, and at Legal HD, you do that with an experienced attorney at a cost that is predictable and within your control.

So the real question isn't free versus paid. It's whether or not you want to actually speak with a lawyer who will seek to answer your questions and provide you with guidance.

Final Thoughts

In theory, free sounds great. In practice, a free legal consultation can cost you time and patience and still leave you without a path forward. A standalone legal advice and counsel session, like a Legal HD session, is built to do the one thing you wanted from the start: Put you in a conversation with an attorney about your situation and provide you with advice and counsel, not a sales pitch.

Legal Services Advertisement — This article is a source of information only and should not be construed as legal advice. Readers should not act on information in this article without first consulting a licensed attorney. Legal HD Advice & Counsel is a single-session, client-driven, standalone legal advice and counsel service currently available throughout California and Wisconsin, provided by the law firm of Farwell Rashkis, LLP, with offices in Los Gatos, California, and Racine, Wisconsin.