This means that if you are working on your own case and want advice on a particular document or issue, you can schedule an appointment with me just to work on that one question, without my working on the whole case. You could also hire me to write a letter or contact another attorney on your behalf. This way, you can combine the cost savings of doing your own legal work with the assurance of having a licensed attorney help you out.

So that’s all there is to it? Unfortunately not: there are some exceptions and rules.

First, even though I will not be working on your whole case, I will need to gather information from you as if I were going to work on your whole case. This is necessary so that I can provide you with the best advice possible and make sure you are not missing essential issues. While this may take additional time, you can use your free consultation for this purpose so there would still be little or no additional cost.

Second, I cannot help you provide legal services to someone else – the advice I give and documents I write must be for your own use. Even if you want to help your grandmother write a will and you’re not charging her a dime, I would have to work directly with your grandmother. Otherwise I would violate rules that prohibit assisting in the unauthorized practice of law. The rules do permit you to pay me fee for helping your grandmother so long as you do not try to control my work on her behalf.

Third, even though we agree to limit the scope of my work, I am legally obligated to inform you about options “that may result in adverse consequences if not considered.” The issue here is one of informed consent – you cannot let go of your right to full and complete representation unless you are aware of what you are missing.

Fourth, I cannot give up my independent judgment and just put my signature on something you’ve written. This isn’t a question of my discomfort about being replaced by self help legal centers and computer programs – I am legally obligated to exercise my independent judgment about your case. If I’ve had a chance to review what you wrote, and to make sure that you know the broader implications of what you’re doing, then I can make a professional judgment about that. It is not reasonable to expect to pay an attorney merely for the time it takes to sign something you wrote or a court form you filled in.

If you are interested in a limited scope representation, please contact me at 415.898.1653 or by e-mail.

I am committed to making legal services accessible for all of my clients. I want clients to feel that they have real control over the legal process.

I provide a free initial consultation to new clients and I provide the first 15 minutes of telephone or e-mail inquiries free to active clients. If you are a current client and are wondering what’s going on with your case, just call or e-mail and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can, usually by the end of the day.

I will provide detailed estimates of the work I will do and how much it will cost. Before I begin work on your case, I will tell you in writing:

*what I plan to do for you
*how long it is likely to take
*how much my fees will be
*how much other costs may be, such as expert witnesses and depositions, paralegals, specialist attorneys, or other professionals such as accountants
*who will actually work on your case
*what I think the result may be
*whether I think it is cost effective to hire me
*how much experience I have handling your type of case

If I don’t have a good estimate, for example how many depositions may be required in your case or whether your case will go to trial or not, then I will limit my evaluation to what I do know and offer to re-evaluate your case as more information becomes available.

If you honestly believe you cannot afford my services, let me know and we can discuss options available such us modifying how you pay me, seeking help from a legal aid office, representing yourself, or limiting the scope of the work I do for you.

The bottom line is that I want you to feel comfortable calling me to talk about your legal concerns. Some say that a lawyer’s most valuable asset is time; others say it is knowledge and experience. I say that a lawyer’s most valuable asset is the trust of her or his clients.

A general practice attorney can help you decide whether you need a more expensive specialist or not and can also help you work more productively with a specialist if one is needed.

While I must always maintain a certain level of professional objectivity, I am committed to working hard at understanding your concerns and needs and turning those into tangible, practical, legal results.

My goal is to be the lawyer you trust enough to call first when you have a concern about a legal issue in your business or family, regardless of the size or type of the problem.

That said, I am also a general practice attorney – I want to help families not just to change shape through birth, custody, divorce or guardianship, but to protect their assets through estate planning and civil litigation, and to protect their health by getting recovery for injuries or by ensuring they get full benefits from the government or from insurance companies.

For better or worse, families are the place where our early lives are shaped.  I believe in family as a fundamental unit of society and I am devoted to protecting it with my full capacity as a person and as an attorney.

I have been moving into my office and getting things set up gradually over the past month, but now I’m in high gear – I’ve put away the paint cans and the folding chair and I’m ready for business.

If the blog appears generic, that’s because it is – I’m still figuring out WordPress.  Hopefully, I’ll get a custom theme designed here sooner rather than later but I’ve made an internal commitment to focus on content for this month as much as possible.  My goal is to write 15 entries describing my approach to law practice, my motives for practicing law, and legal issues I want to deal with in my practice.

Please feel free to submit ideas for articles – but I’m sorry I cannot address your individual legal issue in this public forum.  If you have a legal question or want to set up an appointment please contact me.