Bait and Switch Pricing! Watch Out!

Protect Yourself from Misfortune!

I have recently noticed a trend where lawyers and law firms take advantage of their clients by using cleverly disguised bait and switch tactics.  Because of the general public’s lack of familiarity with the inner workings of the legal profession, most people seeking to hire legal council are completely unaware that many of the advertisements that offer a $1,000.00 or $1,500.00 flat fee foreclosure are lies.

Many of our clients consulted our attorneys after firing their previous lawyer because they were concerned or dissatisfied with the quality of their previous legal counsel. For foreclosure clients, we notice that many clients mention that they hired the previous attorney after they paid a “flat-fee” upfront. 

When a client pays a flat fee like that, they can count on getting little back besides stress and headaches. Many will discover when they read the fine print (or as time goes on) that over time the price will actually wind up being three or four times more than the upfront price they were originally given.

For the life of me, I can’t figure out how a lawyer can take a foreclosure case on for $1,500.00 and sleep at night. How can any attorney afford to charge only $1500 to litigate the case for three years (or more), not to mention take the case to trial all for $1,500.00?  

Reasonably, the only way that an attorney can make this system work and be profitable is to cut corners with short form answers, refrain from conducting any discovery, take fewer depositions, and substandard trial preparation. Do not get caught in a trap by believing in a price that is too good to be true. With legal services, as with everything else in life, you get what you pay for.