I need zealous, passionate, effective advocacy but would like a consultation before I decide to retain The Veteran’s Advocate.
Why should I pay for a consultation?
Most importantly, our client consultation is based on decades of military and veteran law experience and knowledge. Perhaps you don’t know what you should do and you just want an expert’s assessment and one-time advice. Maybe you’re thinking of handling your case “pro se” (without representation) and need some coaching. Or perhaps you’d like to test-drive The Veteran’s Advocate before you enter into a contract for services. A consultation provides you with a professional independent review of the current status of your case and an assessment and opinion about your options moving forward, including an assessment of likelihood of success.
Military and veteran law is extremely complicated and requires significant time to become an expert in all the nuances and complexities of the law, regulation, and quirky processes employed by the various DoD service departments.
True experts in the DES process, LOD determinations, and BCMR and DRB appeals are few and far between. Consider our consultation a steppingstone on your journey, providing you with peace of mind as to your chosen way ahead—even if that way ahead does not involve our representation. That’s ok!
What does a $500 consultation fee provide me?
An attorney will review basic case file documents, assess the strengths and weaknesses of your case, give crucial advice in the event you decide to proceed pro se, and go over the options you have, including ongoing representation or consultation from the firm. The $500 initial consultation fee covers up to 90 minutes of total work. This includes up to 45 minutes of administrative staff requesting, receiving, and adding to your file various documents, and up to 45 minutes of attorney time including a review of the documents and facts of your case in advance of a scheduled phone/video call with the attorney.
The initial consultation is considered “limited-scope,” meaning it is understood at the outset that not every aspect of your case can be covered or advised on. The “scope” of the attorney-client relationship begins at the outset of the consultation and ends at the conclusion of the consultation. There is no ongoing attorney-client relationship or duty for ongoing advice unless a separate contract for services is entered.
If I end up hiring The Veteran’s Advocate to represent me, do I get double billed for the document review and initial consultation? Absolutely not! If after the initial consultation you choose to retain us, the initial document review and client consultation has already been paid for with the consultation fee.
What if I don’t want to retain you after the consultation?
We have clients who choose this route for various reasons, including upon our recommendation during the consultation. Sometimes there just isn’t a viable option for your case to move forward. At The Veteran’s Advocate we don’t play games just to make money. Some clients choose to represent themselves, in which case we can enter a contractual relationship for an hourly rate that allows the client to reach back for additional support as they need it.
We believe our time and expertise are extremely valuable in these complex legal situations. We similarly believe your time and financial resources are equally valuable to you. We therefore provide you with an honest assessment and recommendation for your case even if that means recommending you do not hire us to represent you.
