Should you charge a consultation fee?

"What can you do to protect yourself from potential clients who come into your office, indicate they want to hire you, and then change their mind?" Barbara Bell of Libertyville asked recently on the ISBA main discussion group. "Do any of you charge a consultation fee?"

She got a range of responses. At one end of the spectrum was Carl Draper of Springfield, who says there are no free consultations in his practice. "I have a set fee that is a very fair price to the client, so I get compensated for my time since appointments are rarely shorter than an hour," he said. "I try to give good advice for the amount of information provided in advance and often get retained to do further work."

On the other side is Michael Poulos of Evanston, who says, "I almost never charge a consultation fee. If the potential client has a case that makes sense, wants to hire me, and has the money, great. Otherwise I chalk it up to goodwill and 'marketing.' That potential client who did not hire me has been known to send a good client my way at some future date."

Read more responses in the March Illinois Bar Journal. And find out more about ISBA discussion groups, many of which are open to all members.