Obedience school for lawyers: a consumer's guide to hiring, firing and negotiating with a lawyer - includes related articles on prepaid legal plans and on legal resources - Tutorial

Home Office Computing, Feb, 1993 by Wesley J. Smith

* You have the absolute right to fire your lawyer.

* You will have to pay your fired lawyer's fees unless the firing was for good cause. However, according to HALT, if the firing was for unethical behavior, such as abandonment, you may not have to pay.

The laws differ from state to state, so ask your new lawyer about this issue or contact your state Bar Association.

* Your new lawyer can do the firing for you. You merely sign a form or give the new lawyer written authority.

ACTIVIST CLIENT

Even the most hardened businesspeople, who, in the famous words of Louis B. Mayer, see their jobs as giving headaches rather getting them, may shrink at the task of managing their own lawyers. This is a mistake. You are paying good money for legal services. You have every right to demand prompt, competent, and efficient performance.

It is not conducive to your legal health to be a passive consumer. Set deadlines, ask for copies of pertinent documents in your file, assess your lawyer's preparedness on any issue, and get a second opinion if you have doubts.

Take the time to do your part and you will reap the benefit in improved legal services, money saved, and heartaches avoided. Be an activist client. You'll be glad you did.

PREPAID LEGAL PLANS:

Get Basic Legal Advice Year-Round

For a Set Fee Good legal advice doesn't have to be expensive, Nationwide prepaid legal-services plans designed specifically for small businesses provide access to a lawyer for a yearly fee of $150 to $350. Matters covered range from simple contracts to equipment leases to accounts-receivable collection work, and there is generally no restriction on the frequency with which subscribers can use the service. By making legal services affordable, prepaid plans encourage "preventive law"--identifying legal problems early on and taking steps to minimize them. These plans are not likely to take the place of your regular lawyer. But on many matters you can get a quick answer without having to worry about a separate bill.

Though coverage and fees differ from plan to plan, most include drafting of simple legal documents (a bill of sale or a power of attorney, for example) and follow-up letters or phone calls to third parties. A particularly valuable benefit is unlimited telephone consultation, which is enough to resolve many small-business matters. Most plans won't cover elaborate, customized contracts like marketing or technical agreements. Lawsuits generally cost extra and may be handled through referrals to local lawyers at an additional charge.

Trade and professional groups and local chambers of commerce may offer plans at reduced group rates uniquely tailored to the business needs of their members. Another option is to buy a plan directly from a commercial vendor (see listing below).

It's best to look for a plan before you actually need legal help, so you have the luxury of comparison shopping. Alec M. Schwartz, executive director of the American Prepaid Legal Services Institute, a nonprofit group affiliated with the American Bar Association, also suggests asking these questions: Are the attorneys skilled in a variety of different practice areas? How many years of experience do they have? (Five years or more is best.) Do the lawyers cover the locale in which your company operates? Which services are covered by the plan and which ones cost extra?