We encourage our readers to consult a competent attorney with regard to legal matters whether potential or pending. For some inexplicable reason, many people call lawyers and ask for advice without even supplying the attorney with paperwork relevant to the discussion. Attorneys are asked for their expert opinions on the validity and/or value of “the case” on the phone while being provided with no documents or having had any discussions or even having met with the prospective client.
For any attorney to render such an opinion based on nothing but a brief phone conversation, would be unethical, based on the rankest of speculation and just plain stupid. Additionally, do not assume that a consultation with a competent attorney, which could take anywhere from 1/2 hour to the better part of a day, will be free of charge. Experienced intellectual property lawyers or litigators generally do not provide free consultations. A few may, the overwhelming majority do not.
If you are not prepared to pay a typically modest fee (ranging from $150 – $500) for a review of your paperwork and a thorough discussion of your case while making actual contact with your attorney to be to boot, you are not ready to proceed like a business person. An attorney who may decide to take a case on a contingency fee arrangement still needs to meet with you and thoroughly review your documents. Do not expect an experienced lawyer to do this for “free” simply because you have stated that you “have no money for this”
An experienced lawyer can not afford to spend time without being paid in exchanged for the “glory of representing a photographer”. A young attorney or someone desperate for business might and who is not familiar with the intricacies of litigation, may offer such free service. If he/she does, you must consider whether this is the type of attorney who you feel comfortable representing your interests.
Requests for free consultations from lawyers are unique in the professional world. Photographers readily admit that they would never seek the free opinion of a doctor, dentist, podiatrist and accountant whom they had never met over the phone. Many young professionals will sit down with a prospective client without charge for a simple, general “meet and greet”. Some experienced (a/k/a busy) attorneys will do likewise for established or well known creatives. The irony is that professional photographers continually bemoan the fact that their clients are driving them out of business by employing amateurs and newbies in their stead. They understandably complain because their “cheaper” and far less experienced competitors simply do not possess the level of skill required for the potential jobs out there. These same photographers seek free legal help from typically, newbies and/or desperate attorneys with minimal experience
If you intend to run your business as a profit making enterprise, you need to assume that posture when dealing with professionals like attorneys and accountants who, like it or not, are essential to your financial success.
