As a Rhode Island Divorce Lawyer I think I shocked one gentleman last week. Generally speaking I was contacted by a father who had discussed with his ex-wife that their daughter (Age 16) wanted to go and live with her father for the next couple of years.
Both the father and the mother agreed that if that is what the daughter wanted to do, that they were both agreeable to doing that. However, they wanted to do it correctly and legally so that placement and child support were both addressed.
There was a pause as the man asked me how much it would cost if I were to handle this for him. I explained to him that I could not quote him a price until I had a paid consultation with him to take at least 30 to 40 minutes to ask him all the pertinent questions, evaluate what needed to be done and properly advise him as the client of all legal ramifications of what he wanted done and explain how best to accomplish what he wanted done. The man was annoyed that I would not provide him with a quote over the phone, but frankly speaking, no professional worth his or her salt will just throw out a price over the phone without a thorough consultation unless they are either desperate or inexperienced.
However, when the man asked me about my "Coaching service" and whether that would be an option. I explained to the man that I could tell him that if he had something specific in mind to accomplish a particular task, that I could advise him if his method is correct, give him specific coaching as to how to accomplish the task he was trying to do in the family court, and let him know what his rights were with regard to trying to make the changes before the Rhode Island family court. I explained to him that I provide a 1 hour minimum coaching session on each day and that the cost is $100 for that first hour. Thereafter, the cost would be $25 for each 1/4th of an hour after that until he decided that he had received enough coaching or until I determined no other coaching was necessary.
The man asked if I could give him an indication as to whether I might know if it would be less expensive to have full consultation and then perform whatever work was necessary, or if he participated in my Divorce and Family Law Coaching Sessions.
I recommended that this gentlemen participate in my Coaching process beacuse it was likely to take only 2 hours of coaching and would certainly cost less than 50% of what it might cost if he were to engage my services to perform the task myself.
The man was perplexed. A few minutes later I was perplexed.
MAN: Wouldn't that mean that you would make less money if I take your coaching as opposed to hiring you?
ATTORNEY PEARSALL: Yes.
MAN: But you won't give me the quote for doing the work yourself?
ATTORNEY PEARSALL: It's not that simple. The two services aren't comparable. They are different services and I am compensated differently for each because one is at a fixed rate and the other one is not.
MAN: But my point is that you're encouraging me to a coaching service that makes you less money, right?
ATTORNEY PEARSALL: [. . pausing somewhat . . ] Yes, but I'm not sure what your point is.
MAN: Thank you for your time.
ATTORNEY PEARSALL: Would you like to set up either a consultation or a coaching session?
MAN: Not right now but I'll think about it.
ATTORNEY PEARSALL: Before we end our conversation, do you mind if I ask you why I sense so much skepticism from you.
MAN: Well, I just don't believe that any attorney would try to save a person money like that. If you can coach someone for that amount then it must be pretty easy to do so you should be able to do it for me for that amount so either I should get an attorney who will do this for a few hundred dollars or I should be able to do it on my own.
ATTORNEY PEARSALL: Well, thank you for your time. My best of luck to you.
This is perhaps one of the most perplexing thought patterns that people harbor today based upon the public's preconceived notion that every attorney is some fat cat trying to make as much money as possible off each person that comes in their door. Therefore, when a good-hearted family law attorney tries to better the legal profession and help people in a new and innovative way, it is presumed that the attorney must have an ulterior motive.
It's strange. As lawyers, many people seem to believe that we are all crooked, greedy and overpaid despite the years of study it takes to achieve our legal doctorate. Yet even lawyers like myself who are willing to provide alternate services and accept much less for our services and skills than the market provides, are stigmatized by that misconceived general public perception that we are lying greedy and overpaid.
This misplaced generalization only serves to hurt good attorneys and the consumers they are trying to help.
Modifying placement of a teenage child is a matter that is subject to legal coaching. It is not so excessive so that it cannot be done by a person who represents himself or herself and receives proper coaching. It is therefore possible, economical, and best of all it is just a coaching call away.
Authored By:
Christopher A. Pearsall, Attorney-at-Law
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Copyright 2009. Christopher A. Pearsall, Esquire
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