“Why is it that some law firms want me to quickly sign a Contract, before they even know much about me or my possible case?”
You can only sign a Contract with one law firm to handle your case.
We point out that, here, the timing of when we send our Contract of Representation is guided by these two mutually beneficial ideas:
- You, as a potential client, should take time to get to know more about us (or any law firm); and,
- We need to do some work in order to learn more about your case for us to determine whether we can help you.
We understand that you will want to know about, as well as be comfortable with, the lawyer you select to work on your behalf.
BEWARE!
Some law firms will want you to sign their Contract of Representation the same day you contact them, or the very next day. They will send their Contract immediately by email or by overnight delivery service for you to sign. And the law firm might even tell you they cannot do anything at all concerning your case until you get the signed Contract back to them, and say you should do so “as soon as possible”.
The reason for this tactic is well understood by lawyers but not always by potential clients. It is because, pursuant to the legal ethics rules which apply to lawyers, once you have signed their Contract you are no longer able to speak with any other lawyer or law firm about how they would handle your case. Put otherwise, this “first” law firm now has your case “locked up”, so to speak.
The bottom line is that this tactic only benefits the overly eager law firm — but it is usually not in your best interest to rush when deciding what law firm is right to handle your case.