The short answer is if there is a clear return on investment from a cost-benefit analysis, yes. If it would cost more to retain an attorney than you would benefit, no.
The short answer is if there is a clear return on investment from a cost-benefit analysis, yes. If it would cost more to retain an attorney than you would benefit, no.
We have a very simple bottom line rule for offering to represent you:
Will our involvement in your matter result in greater benefit than not involving us?
To answer this question, we break it down to a two part analysis:
The first sub part requires a discussion of leverage. In essence, leverage can be anything that improves your position in the matter. It could be a strong counterclaim, the ability to file bankruptcy, the willingness to use social media to you advantage, having all of your income be garnishment proof, etc. The stronger your leverage, the easier (and usually cheaper) it is to resolve your case. If you have no leverage or weak leverage, it is harder to do our job and we must dig deeper into the tool box for solutions. Once we understand your leverage, then we will understand what it takes and what it costs to defend you.
Once we know what it takes to defend you, we can answer the second part of the question by doing a cost-benefit analysis. Is the cost of defense less than what we would save you? For example, if you have a $1,000.00 debt you would not spend $10,000.00 defending it. Sometimes if there are non-economic factors such as you are running for office and need something handled discretely or you have a license and being hit with a judgment would trigger mandatory reporting, then this is not a straight cost of defense to amount of the debt analysis. If there is a consumer protection style defense, we are usually able to help you on a contingent basis.
Generally, if there is a clear return on investment, you should likely retain us to provide a defense. If there is not a clear return on investment or if it would cost more to retain us than it would benefit you, you should not retain us. In many instances, we will decline representation in the second scenario due to legal ethical requirements under the rules of professional conduct all attorneys are subject to.
To make sure that there is proper return on investment and that we can yield better savings for hiring us than if you did not, here are the basic guidelines:
If you fit one of the above three scenarios, please visit our collection defense scheduling page.
You should not retain us if:
If your situation matches the above three factors, it will be very unlikely that we can cost effectively represent you and we would recommend that you visit our resources page for free and pro bono options.