I get a lot of questions from potential clients about the process of hiring an employment attorney — are our discussions confidential? Is there a fee for an initial consultation? How long will it take me to return your call or email? So let me review the process so as to give you a better idea of how my law office works.
We receive between 150 and 200 telephone calls, emails and referrals every month. Usually, my assistant, Pam, will interview you to get the basic details that I need to determine whether your employment situation. I do not charge any fee for her to conduct the intake interview. She will ask for your name, contact information, age, size and location of your employer and the details of your problem. Everything you say to her is strictly confidential — whether you end up retaining my services or not! Even if you choose another attorney, I am forbidden from revealing any of your information to anybody outside of my law office.
Pam will then type up an intake form with your information, and I will review it as soon as possible. Sometimes, if I am caught up with my work, I will call you or email you the next day. Sometimes, it may take as long as a week. If I don’t think you have a case, or if I cannot help you, because your employer is out of state, or I have a conflict of interest, or it's not the kind of matter that I handle, I will usually send you an email telling you my thoughts. If I want to discuss it more and need more information, I will let you know. If I think you have a potentially strong case, I will set up a meeting at my office. Once again, I do not charge for a meeting, unless it is to review a severance agreement or non-compete agreement or for a similar situation.
We will then discuss whether I can represent you and how I would do so, i.e. for an hourly rate, or a contingency fee, or a mixture such as a hybrid fee, which is a reduced hourly fee combined with a reduced contingency fee. It is important to keep in mind that of every 200 potential clients that contact me each month, I only agree to represent approximately 15, and most of those are for unemployment appeals or to review severance agreements, employment contracts or non-compete agreements.