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

In addition, ask how you can contact the service. (Generally they have 800-number telephone hotlines.) Typically an attorney is assigned to you, but the plan should permit you to change lawyers or drop the service if you're not satisfied. Since there is no over-sight group specifically assigned to monitor the quality of these plans, it's important to select one with its own procedure for handling complaints. Before you sign on, check the firm's reputation in your area by calling the local Better Business Bureau, Consumer Affairs Office, and state Attorney General's office. Choose a plan that has operated locally for at least two years without complaints.

The following vendors offer plans specifically designed for small businesses:

Lawphone

(800) 255-3352

Available at a reduced rate through Prodigy

([800] 284-5933) or the

AT&T Home Office Network ([800] 446-6311).

Caldwell Legal, U.S.A. (800) 222-3035 --DEBORAH JACOBS

LEGAL RESOURCES

HALT, 1319 F St, NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20004; (202) 347-9600: membership fee, $15 per year.

HALT--Americans for Legal Reform. which has 100,000 members, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public-interest group that works to make the American legal system more fair, simple, and accessible to all people. HALT publishes self-help books and informational guides. Included m your membership is the book, Using a Lawyer ... and What to Do If Things Go Wrong, by Kay Ostberg in association with HALT (1990. Random House. New York). The book gives valuable information on managing the attorney-client relationship and also contains sample retainer agreements and a state-by-state list of where to turn for fee arbitrations or attorney discipline. (Non-members can order it from HALT, $8.95, adding $1.80 for shipping and handling).

Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory (Martindale-Hubbell; [800] 526-4902).

This publication, used by lawyers to find lawyers in other locales, is especially helpful because it provides valuable information such as the lawyer's year of birth, law school attended and date of graduation, and year of admission to your state's bar to practice law. More importantly, the publication rates lawyers on their legal expertise and ethical standards. The ratings range from "C.V." (high legal ability) to "A.V." (very high legal ability). The "V" means "very high ethics." The ratings are based upon anonymous questionnaires sent by Martindale-Hubbell to lawyers and judges, so they tend to be reliable. However, only lawyers who wish to be rated are actually rated. Nonetheless, the publisher says that if a lawyer is not rated, it doesn't mean that he or she is not a good lawyer, and that no unfavorable inference can be drawn.

WESLEY J. SMITH is an attorney, consumer advocate, and author. His books include The Lawyer Book, The Doctor Book, and The Senior Citizens Handbook. He wrote "New Age Capitalism," in the August issue of HOME OFFICE COMPUTING.