Lawyer friends: I often see — usually in online advice fora — people say "go talk to a lawyer, the initial consultation will be free”. This has never been my experience: every time I’ve needed a lawyer, the initial meeting has been billed at their hourly rate, typically $200-$500.
Where does this "the initial meeting will be free" idea come from? Is it outdated? True in specific circumstances?
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@jacob I’ve had multiple cases where a lawyer would meet with me or a friend for free, in both UK and US. Example areas are immigration, contract disputes, and tax. These are “Do I need a lawyer/what would you do for me as my lawyer?” meetings, which I assume are the sorts of meetings people are referring to?
