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I don’t charge for consults since I represent lawyers as outside General Counsel, consults benefit me as much as them. But the best approach I’ve seen (from a law firm client) is to charge for the consult but waive it if retained. Prospects that balk at a reasonable consult fee are only going to be a bigger problem when it comes to actually paying for legal services - you’re doing yourself a favor dodging those bullets. Good luck!
Stop charging for consults. If you inspire confidence, you’ll convert. Do phone consults whenever possible and learn how to cut them short if they’re nuts or broke or outside your practice area. I convert, turn down, or refer out close to 100% of my consults, all of which are free. And it has the benefit of me only having to answer the phone to make money. Consult fee doesn’t move the needle enough to be worthwhile.
Depends upon your practice. I do charge for consultations, but at half the usual hourly rate. I practice matrimonial law in a small competitive market, and a lot of prospective clients book consultations in order to block the other spouse from hiring me. I also don’t want to give out free advice.
I like your reasoning for charging for consultations here. However, I don't think advice should be given at a consultation, not until you've been hired. I treat the consultation as a fact gathering and to determine whether it's a good fit with the prospective client.
It's depends on what your "consultation" consists of. If you're giving legal advice, you should charge but then I wouldn't call it a consultation. A consultation to me, is just gathering some basic info to determine whether I can actually help them. Seems a bit of a scam to charge if I ultimately determine I can't help them. I am just up front to prospective clients. I tell them the consultation is free so that I can determine if I can help them. If I do determine I can help them, then they can decide if they want to hire me. But some want free legal advice, in that case I make sure they are aware that in order to get actual legal advice they will have to pay for it. But I won't have them in for a meeting, charge them an hour only to determine that I can't give them advice or won't help them. Just not good business sense.