Tuesday, June 27, 2006

I sought and received counsel in preparation for my client meeting this week. After thinking it over, as long as I believe I can help and there are no ethical issues I'm going to take the case. Probably the best part about being a solo is getting to choose your clients, but I didn't become a lawyer for the power trip of turning people away at the door.

Still, I am aware that I need to be careful. I've already been saved from walking into a legal minefield by an experienced practitioner friend who realized that what I thought was a simple issue was actually quite complex. I was all set to handle the case at a fixed rate, too, so I would have eaten all the extra hours it would have taken to finish the project. Lesson learned: when in doubt how much work a matter will take, never quote a fee until you talk to someone who knows what the heck they're talking about.