Have questions?
Find your answers here.
Our consultation process, fees, scope of our services, and more are clarified here. Still have questions? Contact us or email shea@consultwithshea.com.
General
If you suspect that you may have a legal problem, consult with Shea. It is best to find out whether you do or don’t have a legal problem sooner than later. If you don’t have a legal problem, you can breathe easy. If you do have a legal problem—or a situation that may become a problem—it is best to know so that you can plan your course of action to minimize risk and maximize peace of mind.
Yes. There are lots of attorneys who practice different types of law. And there are a wide variety of problems people have. Most attorneys are looking to help clients with specific problems that fit into their practice model. If your description of your problem to the person who answers the phone doesn’t fit within particular parameters, you won’t get to talk to an attorney at that firm. If you describe your problem one way, they will talk to you. If you describe your problem another way, they won’t talk to you. Shea can help you understand your problem better and can help you describe your needs in a way that will help get you the representation you need.
Sometimes it is hard to determine exactly who you need to talk to. Shea can help. Little details can make a big difference. For example, a lot of attorneys say they do “elder law,” but does that mean that they do estate planning, probates, guardianships, or Medicaid planning? Some will do all of these. Others only focus on one or two areas. The same is true of business law and court cases. With his years of experience, Shea can help you to better understand your legal issues and direct you to the right attorney to help with your specific needs.
Free consultations generally are a lure to get you in the door so the attorney can evaluate your case. Most attorneys are not seeking to address your needs during the consultation, only to see if you might be a good—i.e. profitable—client for the firm in the future. When you get a free consultation, you are a “potential client.” The attorney is vetting you to see if they will represent you. When you consult with Shea, you are a client. So, consultations with Shea are different. Shea is not sizing you up to see if you might be a good client, Shea is trying to help you with your problem during the consultation. Click here to watch our video summary on paid versus free consultations.
Communication and Scheduling
Shea generally responds to emails the same day or the next business day.
Generally, no. Pre-consultation communications should be by email. Shea’s email is shea@consultwithshea.com.
Email shea@consultwithshea.com with any questions you have. Shea generally responds to emails the same day or the next business day.
Email Shea at shea@consultwithshea.com and ask if he can accommodate a special appointment time that works for you. If there are limited times that you are available, include those in your email so that Shea can evaluate his availability. If Shea has special availability, he will open an appointment on www.consultwithshea.com and you will book and pay for it there. You do not have an appointment until you receive a confirmation email stating that your appointment is confirmed.
Shea’s regular schedule has appointments during weekday evenings and on Saturdays. If you make arrangements by email, Shea may be able to add appointments to his schedule to fit your needs if an appointment during his regular schedule does not accommodate your needs.
Click on any Book a Consultation button and follow the instructions there. You will select a time for your appointment, enter the necessary personal information and a description of what you want to talk about, acknowledge the fee agreement and conflict waiver, and pay for your consultation. After that, you will receive a confirmation email confirming the time of your consultation.
Absolutely. You can consult with Shea any time you want to talk to an attorney.
Rescheduling and Cancellations
You should email Shea at shea@consultwithshea.com and tell him that you need to cancel your appointment. If you are canceling more than 48 hours in advance of your appointment time, please tell Shea whether you prefer a refund of ½ of the consultation fee paid or if you prefer credit toward a future consultation. If you cancel within 48 hours of your appointment time, please include in your email extenuating circumstances, if any, that you believe justify waiver of the cancellation rules.
Yes, provided you notify Shea more than 48 hours in advance of your appointment time, you may reschedule your appointment. Rescheduling within 48 hours constitutes a cancelation of the appointment.
Shea will only reschedule your appointment if unforeseen circumstances arise. If Shea needs to reschedule, you will be offered appointment times as soon as possible after the original appointment time. If you choose not to reschedule, you will receive a refund of 100% of your consultation fee.
Yes, in some cases. If you have a personal emergency or extenuating circumstances, email an explanation to Shea, and he may be willing to work with you to waive the 48-hour requirement or to provide credit toward a future consultation.
There is no refund of fees if you miss a consultation. If you have extenuating circumstances, you may email Shea at shea@consultwithshea.com and ask him to waive this provision. He may decide you are eligible to receive a credit toward a future consultation.
Yes. If Shea cancels your appointment, you will receive a refund of 100% of your consultation fee.
If Shea determines that he has an unwaivable conflict or is not qualified to consult regarding your legal issue, Shea will cancel your appointment and provide a full refund of the consultation fee paid.
You will receive a discount code or coupon to apply when checking out at the time you rebook your consultation.
Email Shea at shea@consultwithshea.com for help.
There are costs and effort associated with canceling an appointment that has been made. The retained portion of the fee paid covers those costs. It also discourages people from booking appointments if they are not certain that they want to consult with Shea.
If you cancel within 48 hours of the time set for an appointment, Shea has already confirmed arrangements to be available for your consultation and has likely prepared for your consultation, including reviewing the synopsis of your problem and conducting any legal research needed to refresh or update his understanding of the law related to your issue. Also, others who want to talk to Shea have likely lost the opportunity to do so.
Within 48 hours of the time set for an appointment, Shea has already confirmed arrangements to be available for your consultation and has likely prepared for your consultation, including reviewing the synopsis of your problem and conducting any legal research needed to refresh or update his understanding of the law related to your issue. Also, others who want to talk to Shea have likely lost the opportunity to do so. As such, Shea generally does not allow people to reschedule within 48 hours of their appointment time.
Policies and Fees
No. The fee for a consultation is $250. There are no additional or hidden costs or fees. You are not obligated to engage in our services beyond the initial consultation. If you do engage Consult With Shea for services beyond the initial consultation, it will be for a set fee that you will know and pay in advance.
Yes, you do have to pay Consult With Shea, P.C. using a credit or debit card.
Shea does not charge clients by the hour and doesn't have an hourly rate. Shea works for clients on a fee-for-service basis so that the client knows what fee they will pay for a specified scope of work. The value to the client is in the legal work provided, not the time it takes to complete. Shea takes the risk that a scope of work will take longer than initially anticipated.
All client services are charged at set fees disclosed to the client before work is started. The client pays for the services to be completed in advance or Shea initiates work on the scope of services.
No. In addition to being fair to the client and ensuring payment of Consult With Shea, Shea only works with set fees paid in advance to keep fees low for clients. Billing for services after work is completed, requires preparations of invoices, and management of advance fee deposits and trust accounts. This would add to overhead and the cost of services that a client pays. By using fixed fees and taking payment in advance, Consult With Shea can offer some of the most affordable private legal services available.
Consult With Shea has streamlined operations to the greatest extent possible by leveraging technology and eliminating all sources of unnecessary overhead. Additionally, Shea wants to make legal advice accessible to everyone. So, charging affordable fees is a key part of the firm's mission.
Shea consults with many clients regarding a variety of legal issues. Consult With Shea has conflict detection protocols in place, however, because of the nature of the practice, it is possible that certain conflicts may not be detected or may not be detected until it is too late to avoid the conflict. Therefore, Consult With Shea can only work with clients who are willing, after being informed regarding the issue, to waive any waivable conflicts that may arise.
Consultation Scope and Process
Your consultation will last as long as needed to address your issue up to 50 minutes. In Shea’s discretion and depending on availability of time, some consultations may go slightly longer than 50 minutes.
During your consultation and for the purposes discussed in your consultation, Shea is your attorney. Shea is also your attorney when there is an outstanding scope of work being completed by Consult With Shea pursuant to a fee agreement. Shea’s representation of you ends when your consultation is over or when any scope of work being performed is completed.
Please do not send documents unless they are requested by Shea. Shea will send you an email requesting any documents he believes are necessary for him to review prior to or during your consultation. In many cases, document review—which includes comment and additional consultation–is a specific scope of work separate and in addition to a consultation and with an additional fee. That said, a consultation is generally necessary to initiate a document review as Shea will need context and will need to know your goals and specific concerns, if any. Shea will account for the fact that you have paid for a consultation when determining the fee to charge for your document review.
Schedule a consultation with Shea. During the consultation, Shea will ascertain your goals and objectives as well as specific concerns you may have. This helps to guide Shea in reviewing your document.
Generally, Shea can complete a document review within one to two business days of your initial consultation. You should discuss with Shea specific timing if you face tight deadlines. If circumstances require it, Shea can often complete a document review within 24 hours of your initial consultation.
You can consult with Shea about just about any civil legal problem. The array of consultation topics includes:
- Business and not-for-profit formation and governance
- Operating agreements, bylaws and buy/sell agreements
- Business purchases and sales
- Contract drafting and review
- Employment and independent contractor agreements
- Real estate purchase and sale agreements
- Commercial lease drafting and review
- Mediation and arbitration
- Advice for attorneys and law firms regarding the law of lawyering and legal ethics
Yes. Shea does not consult on matters primarily regarding criminal law, patents or intellectual property, immigration, bankruptcy, adoption, divorce, child custody, child support, expungement of criminal convictions, restoration of firearm rights, or residential landlord-tenant matters.
Over Shea’s 20+ years of practicing law, Shea has represented innumerable clients in a variety of legal matters. Shea has helped clients to start businesses—and started and operated businesses on his own account. Shea has tried cases to verdict in front of juries, judges, and arbitrators. Shea has worked for the court system and the state. Shea has seen all kinds of disputes and learned how disputes progress and resolve. His breadth and depth of experience make him well-qualified to help you with your problem. See more details about his experience here.
Yes. He has advised countless clients regarding starting businesses and he has started businesses on his own account. Shea can advise you regarding entity selection and the ins and outs of formation as well as putting together a team to help you as you start and begin to operate your business. Shea can advise you regarding the formation process and provide you with a checklist of action items to do and issues to consider. If you prefer, Shea can form your business for you and address initial filings and registrations.
Yes. Shea can help. Often a bank is looking for an operating agreement or bylaws. For a business entity with a single owner, Shea can generally provide an operating agreement or bylaws as part of the initial consultation. For an entity with more than one owner, Shea can prepare documents, but they are separate from and in addition to the initial consultation.
For businesses that are too small to warrant an ongoing relationship with traditional counsel, Consult With Shea can serve as counsel to talk to whenever the business needs legal advice. This includes answering “everyday” legal questions, securing payment from customers or clients, avoiding disputes, reviewing contracts and leases, and the like.
Consult With Shea prepares legal documents including, but not limited to, contracts, leases, employment agreements, purchase and sale agreements, shareholder or member buy-sell agreements, and the like.
No. Shea does not appear in court. Shea can refer you to attorneys who appear in court on behalf of clients.
Services and Availability
No. Shea only conducts consultations virtually. Shea has no physical office location except for receiving mail and courier packages.
Shea works remotely, generally from his home office in Portland, Oregon.
Consult With Shea serves Oregon and Washington statewide as well as individuals and businesses in other locations that have legal problems connected to Oregon or Washington. Because Shea works virtually, he can provide services wherever you are located.
Shea grew up in Western Washington before living for 31 years in Eastern Washington and Idaho. Shea has lived in rural settings as well as urban settings. Shea has represented entrepreneurs in “cutting edge” businesses as well as farmers and ranchers. For a guy who lives in the city now, Shea has a pretty good understanding of what rural life is like and issues that arise for people living in rural settings.
Generally yes. Communications with Shea subject to the confidentiality provisions of the Rules of Professional Conduct and may be protected by attorney-client privilege. With few exceptions, so long as you do not share your communications with Shea with other people, the communications are confidential.