Why this matters
Hiring the first lawyer who returns your call is a default, not a decision. Consults are often free, while the differences between lawyers — fees, responsiveness, real experience with businesses like yours — are large and only visible side by side.
What "done" looks like
- Two or three consults completed from your shortlist
- The same question set asked in each, with notes
- A fee estimate or structure from each candidate
- A clear first choice and a backup
How to do it
- Book consults with your shortlist from the previous step; ask upfront whether the first meeting is free — many small-business lawyers offer that.
- Bring the legal-needs list you wrote in step one so the conversation is about quoting your actual work.
- Ask about relevant experience: "How many businesses like mine — size, industry, stage — have you worked with in the last two years?"
- Ask operational questions: who does the day-to-day work, typical response time, how calls and emails are billed, what happens outside their specialty.
- Ask for a cost estimate on your top-priority item and how they'd structure it; afterward, rank candidates on fit, clarity, and cost — not charisma.
Common mistakes
- Treating the consult as free advice time instead of an evaluation
- Not asking who actually does the work day to day
- Choosing on hourly rate alone rather than estimated total and responsiveness
Real-world examples
- Free or low-cost initial consultations are a widely offered practice among small-business lawyers, and many state bar referral services arrange reduced-rate first meetings.
- A widely documented pattern: quoted totals for identical routine matters vary substantially between firms — comparison is what surfaces the spread.
From a founder's point of view
You're not qualified to judge legal skill, and you don't have to be. An interview reveals whether they explain plainly, quote without dodging, and respect your budget — signals that predict the relationship better than any credential.
Rule of thumb
One lawyer is a quote; two or three is a comparison. Don't sign an engagement letter until you have the comparison.