Solo Practice: Unbundled service can be a good option

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Minneapolis immigration attorney Dyan Williams recently represented a U.S. citizen who was petitioning for her fiancé overseas to come to the United States to live. Once he arrived here via a K1 “fiancé visa,” they could get married and go through the process of obtaining a green card.

The client turned out to be an ideal candidate for unbundled legal service (also sometimes called limited-scope service), in which attorneys offer clients a la carte access to their services. As a result, she needed Williams only for miscellaneous chores, such as preparing a letter for the fiancé to take to the U.S. consulate.

“She was a perfect client for a limited scope because her fiancé didn’t have a criminal history or any complications like that,” said Williams. “She felt comfortable doing the initial part of the process, then had me take care of the later stages, like preparing for the visa interview.”

“Unbundled services” became a buzz phrase for attorneys about a decade ago, and in the intervening years some have found that running their practice that way isn’t practical or lucrative enough to stick with it.

“There can be tons of drawbacks to doing it this way,” said Emily Cooper, a family attorney in Minneapolis. “You have to know how long it will take you to do something. If someone calls and says they just have a document to review, you really don’t know what you’re getting into. It could a complex, hundred-page document.

“It can be especially hard for young lawyers, because they will probably undercharge.”

In-between clients

Offering unbundled legal services has proven to be an especially good fit in practice areas that tend to serve low-income clients. Cooper said she created her firm seven years ago with the express intent of providing sliding-fee services for low- and medium-income clients who can’t afford mainstream services.

“Low-income clients often try to do things themselves until they get in over their heads,” she said. “A lot of people who call have maybe already prepared a joint petition, and someone has told them, ‘You really should have that looked at by an attorney.’”

Minneapolis family attorney Jenna C. Westby agreed that the a la carte approach can be perfect for the in-between clients who can’t get subsidized legal services but can’t afford full representation.

“There was a need for people who can’t or don’t want to pay big-firm fees, but don’t qualify for free services,” she said. “Other people just want this level of control. People who want this kind of representation make up a pretty good percentage of the family law client base.”

Professional associations have praised unbundling as an effective way to reach the kind of clients Westby describes. The Minnesota State Bar Association offers consumers an online directory of lawyers who offer sliding fees, unbundled services and even free initial consultations.

What’s it worth?

Offering unbundled legal services is not without pitfalls. As Cooper mentioned, lawyers don’t always know what their time and skills are worth, leading them to take a hit the first few times they offer a client limited-scope service.

“Thoroughly evaluate the case up front,” advises Williams. “Even if you’re providing limited-scope representation, you need to have a comprehensive understanding of the case. It starts with initial intake.”

At first, she recommends, act as if you’re giving full representation, then break the case down to see where it might make sense for a client to take on certain parts — such as filling out boilerplate forms that you can review later.

Williams also recommends having a written fee agreement outlining the cost and scope of your services. “I tell them exactly what I will and won’t be responsible for,” she said.

That includes spelling out exactly when your representation ends. You might help a client draft and submit a motion, but what if that leads to another hearing?

“You need a clear understanding of what you’re doing,” said Cooper. “You might have to make sure you’re not running afoul of the court and the rules of professional responsibility.”

Despite laws that give lawyers wide latitude in limiting their representation, attorneys need to be aware that even the most limited representation still constitutes a lawyer-client relationship. That means that the standard concern about conflicts of interest and protecting the interest of your client is important.

Finally, Westby advises, wait to begin offering unbundled services until a case comes along that will suit such an approach. She recalled representing a woman in a divorce case whose husband was representing himself, and not very well.

“He kept bringing motions, but they were easy to respond to,” Westby said. “She got tired of me driving out to Wright County once we realized she was able to do a lot of the paperwork and just have me check it over.”