Free Divorce Consultation Is a Waste of Time

You need a divorce lawyer, and you think maybe a free consultation will be right for you. But, you don’t know any lawyers, and you have no idea how to choose the right one. You know you have a big problem, and you need someone to help you fix it.

So you get on Google and start trying to find a lawyer, but it’s really hard to tell from a website or a collection of Google reviews which lawyer will really get you and understand your problem. How can you tell from a profile picture and a list of law school accolades whether a lawyer is going to not just understand your case but also care about you? Who is going to guide you, strategize with you, prepare you, and God forbid, take your case to trial?

You’ll find a lot of lawyers’ websites with glaring “Free Consultations” announcements and directives to “Call Now!” That “Free Consultation” sounds like just the thing to help you evaluate which lawyer will be right for you. Right?

Wrong.

There’s no such thing as a free consultation.

We know this. Just like we know that signing up for a free day at Disney World is going to require you to spend a day in a hotel conference rooming listening to a timeshare pitch. Nothing is free.

Here’s what will happen at your “free” consultation.

• You make an appointment and show up at the appointed time.
• The lawyer will be late.
• You will wait at least 20 minutes to see the lawyer. The lawyer is very, very busy.
• You will read the reception magazines and try to determine from the framed certificates whether this guy can help you.

Finally, a lawyer will come out to meet with you. Maybe it won’t be the lawyer you’re expecting. It might be another lawyer in the firm. You’ll get a vigorous handshake and then get shuffled into a conference room.

Once the door is closed, this lawyer will start talking immediately.

He knows all about your case, and he’ll tell you all he knows about it. Then, he’ll tell you everything he knows about everything else.

And you will sit there and nod along. You’ll realize that this guy talks a lot. Maybe that will help solve your problem? Meanwhile, as the lawyer is talking at you, the lawyer is calculating. How long will it take to get you out of his office? Did you bring money with you today to retain the lawyer? How much can you afford? What he’s not thinking about is you and your problem.

He sees you as a dollar sign.

The free consultation with you is just a thing he has to do to get to the next thing that will get him some money.

Eventually, this lawyer will get around to talking money. This will be the fastest part of his presentation. He’ll be uncomfortable asking you for money, and he’s going to be pretty vague about how much this is all going to cost you. And because he’s uncomfortable being honest about the expenses for your case and because he really wants to get you signed, paid, and out of his office, this lawyer is going to give you a number that he thinks you will accept. It’s going to be so easy to finish this free consultation and get on to the next thing.

You’ll leave the lawyer’s office reeling from being talked at for an hour. Can this guy help you? Can you possibly stand to sit through another one of these one-way conversation “free” consultations.

At least it was free.

Rhodes Law does not offer a free consultation. Our initial Divorce Consultation is a Strategy Session that delivers value to you and defines a clear strategy for you to move forward toward resolving your problem.