In today’s video, we talk about the free legal consult that is a hook for many healthcare ventures.  Go fish.

Hi, I’m Michael H. Cohen, founding attorney of the Cohen Healthcare Law Group. We help healthcare industry clients just like you navigate healthcare and FDA legal issues so you can launch, or continue to scale, your health and wellness product or service success.

We’re talking today via video because you have a burning issue you’d like to resolve where you require legal advice. It might be that you want to launch a medical spa, a telemedicine platform, a mobile IV clinic, or another healthcare venture.  And you find yourself at a crossroads, where your investors, partners, strategic allies seem to say “yes” but the law seems to say “no” or at least place a heavy boulder in your path.

That boulder could be … the corporate practice of medicine doctrine; liability concerns; questions about how to structure your venture, who should own what; intellectual property concerns; HIPAA, privacy and security related to your customer data; Stark, anti-kickback, fee-splitting; FDA issues toward your dietary supplement, cosmetic or OTC product; or legal questions about your advertising, marketing, FTC issues; regulatory concerns for your functional, integrative or concierge medicine practice; or any one of a myriad of FDA or healthcare legal issues.

And you’re looking at a number of law firms to see who’s the best fit and you receive what seems like a dazzling offer: a free consult.

FREE!  Suddenly the whole picture goes topsy-turvy.  I mean FREE!  Can anyone resist?  The Siren calls you again: FREE. FREE, FREE, FREE.

We all know that lawyer time can go from $250 to $1250 an hour, even higher … but gosh, imagine getting a lawyer for ZERO DOLLARS.  What a bargain! Free!

As the Godfather used to say: “Make them an offer they can’t refuse.”

Yeah, he also used to say: “sleeping with the fishes.”  But we’re not talking about that one; the point is, no one’s going to fault you for running to a offer that says FREE. It’s an offer you can’t refuse.

But less dramatically, my Bubbie used to say: “You get what you pay for.”  And: “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.”  Hey, I just Googled to make sure that’s correct. I mean, I Googled “are free things really free.”  Google it, you’ll see.

Now, I’ve been on both sides of this issue, because i’ve also had the experience of working with other law firms, for the law firms and a dynamic called for so-called “free” appetizer-level advice to win the client.  And, i’ve made a STRATEGIC DECISION to NOT give “free” consults.

I have three reasons if you’re curious about it – or more.

First, any lawyer can talk to anyone, but once they give legal advice, they’re creating an attorney-client relationship which means exposing themselves to a ton of risk and ethical concerns.

Who would create exposure for free? Why would you? If you’re a doctor, do you see patients for free, hoping that maybe, maybe, maybe, just please, perhaps they might like you enough that hopefully they might … pay your services someday?

This does not sound like it’s coming from a position of confidence and strength.

Second, is it even a wise strategy to offer free professional services?  The “freebies” I’ve seen are usually estimates that get you hooked into an expectation of price … which is always dependent on scope anyway.  And legal advice isn’t like pulling a vending machine knob.

Besides, as a business strategy, it’s one thing to have a product strategy, like giving away the razor blades trusting the consumer will buy the razor or enter into a subscription arrangement for life.  Or letting someone try your fitness club for a few weeks – hey they are going to be with you for life.  But “professional services” … aren’t they different than products?  Don’t they depend on massive knowledge, expertise, and training?  Who would give that away?

Third, your “free consult” isn’t free; it’s a marketing strategy calculated into the cost of acquisition. Let me say that again: the free consult is a marketing strategy calculated into the cost of customer acquisition.

Again, who gives away professional time for free?  Doctors don’t.  Dentists don’t.  Sure, you might get a free toothbrush.  Or the chiropractor at the health fair might give you a “free assessment,” but to get treated, you’ll have to pay.  They might tell you that all these things are wrong with you so they can charge you to fix it. So, your “free consult” is a marketing strategy.  The cost is spread over ALL the clients, including guess who? You, if you become a client.

In other words, you end up paying for your free consult over the life of your paid consult.  How do I know?  Because otherwise the law firm wouldn’t make money, and we’re in a capitalistic society. Law firms are profit-oriented ventures.

So, let me recap.

One, a lawyer that gives you actual legal advice creates an attorney-client relationship and I question who would expose themselves to a lot of risk without receiving any compensation in return.

Two, no one I know gives away professional services for free, that I worked with. I mean, those that do, I don’t believe in it.

Third, it’s not really free—you end up paying for it. The fee is hidden, it comes later.

There’s a fourth reason, though–no disrespect to some of my colleagues that use the freebie as a hook for new business.

In my view, the best way to see if you’re a good fit with your legal team for the long run, for a deep dive is to do test drive.  I’m not just talking about around the block.  I mean, hire them. Actually, hire the law firm for a limited retainer … let’s just say limited to an hour and a half, say half of it is preparation time, half of it is your talk time.  Let’s see what they do when they actually commit to you to doing the work.

Do your beta test. Hear the questions the attorney asks, see how they think, how they issue-spot, how they analyze your situation.

Listen, anyone can recite black-letter law.  Yes, it sounds like a Stark problem and Stark has so many exceptions.  These days, you can ask Siri or Google. But will robots or free attorneys spot the issues, analyze your situation, give you an “aha” moment that could become a pivot point for your business structure, or provide foundational advice that help you launch or scale?

This is why we’ve designed the Legal Strategy Session as the entry-level set point for most of our incoming clients.

Here’s what we want you to get in the legal strategy session, it’s four things:

1. Unparalleled advice, superb advice from a highly trained and experienced Healthcare & FDA Lawyer.
2. Discovery of key legal issues that are holding you back from meeting the business goals of your healthcare venture.
3. Value. Initial recommendations and next steps to help you accomplish your goals as efficiently as possible.
4. Powerful “Aha!” moments, ignited by our Attorneys who have collectively supported over 1,000+ health and wellness businesses.

Isn’t that compelling?

I’ve been a client and I’ve been in your shoes as I’ve hired plenty of attorneys and law firms.  You do get what you pay for, and whenever I got a freebie, I was unimpressed.  As a friend of mine used to say, the only place you get free cheese is in a mousetrap.

Now nibbling around the edges of that, if you’re not like me—let’s say you get your freebie and you are impressed, go for it. We’re not in a race to give away freebies, we’re not trying to capture everybody.  We EXPECT that a good many of you will return to us.

We love what we do, we want to work with A players who are committed as we are to growing a business with integrity and making a difference in this world.  That’s why the Mission Statement on our Website says: “We provide legal strategies and solutions to businesses that accelerate health and wellness.”

Having said all this, I understand how you feel.  Many of our clients today have felt the same way.  They went for their free consult. It was irresistible. But then they found the advice wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. As Bono from U2 sings: “But I still haven’t found … what I’m looking for.” They didn’t find what they were looking for, for free.

So come join our legal family and book your Legal Strategy Session today. Come visit our website, cohenhealthcarelaw.com.  There’s a lot of resources there, a lot of materials. You can get started now or you can send us a message.

Again, we love what we do.  We look forward to getting to know you and what you’d like to get done in this world, we look forward working with you. Here’s to the success of your healthcare venture, we look forward to seeing you soon.