Comments on: Free Legal Advice In Court? CT Family Courts Should Promote Lawyer Referral Service

By: Jim Aspell

Jim Aspell — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 04:02:48 +0000

Agreed. Free legal vice is worth exactly what you pay for it. If we devalue ourselves as professionals, we have no one to blame but ourselves when the going rate for our skills falls. I am a LRS participating attorney and have received 2 separate commedations from the CBA for an exceptional willingness to accept pro bono cases. I am also a Law Works for People attorney. There are programs out there for those who truly need it.

The $25.00 consultation is an excellent program. It reminds me of Abe Lincolns saying that the purpose of a retainer is so a lawyer knows he has a client, that the client knows he has a lawyer.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 12:31:19 +0000

Thank you Barbara for both volunteering and sharing your thoughts. Access to justice is a problem.

By: Barbara J. Ruhe

Barbara J. Ruhe — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 10:25:25 +0000

I am one of the volunteer lawyers. I think you raise some excellent points. Most of the folks that I have dealt with are truly lost and don’t know where to turn and have no resources. I have suggested to folks who need more than 10 minutes of advice to contact the CBA and have given them that number. I have printed out the page about the HCBA Lawyer Referral Service and will take it with me the next time I volunteer.

By: Hilary B. Miller

Hilary B. Miller — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:24:52 +0000

You are correct in every respect. And consider this: avoidance of the expense of litigation is one of the principal reasons that clients settle. If legal advice is free, we become enablers of intractability. Unless truly indigent, the client needs to have an economic investment, however small, in the costs brought about by protraction.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:40:08 +0000

If you’re not willing to make a $25 investment towards solving a legal problem than you deserve what you get. Often times when people feel like they have an investment in something of value.

The beautiful thing about the lawyer referral service is that it begins a relationship between a lawyer and a client. Perhaps a client doesn’t want to pay me for the entire case but wants my help drafting a motion – it’s often a win-win for both client and lawyer.

By: Josh Michtom

Josh Michtom — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 13:20:41 +0000

You have a good point, and $25 is certainly a reasonable amount of money for most people – even my clients, whose incomes are low enough to qualify them for public defender services. One thing to consider, though, is that $25 may present a psychological barrier that keeps people ever from getting the simple advice they need. Understand, I’m not saying it’s right for people to avoid paying even that small sum, but I bet that’s what would happen, because people sometimes can’t believe that legal answers can be so straightforward. As a result, you might still have pro se litigants slowing down the system.