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ARE WE EXPENSIVE?
by Michael J. Gurfinkel, Esq.
Dear Atty. Gurfinkel:
I have an immigration problem, and need a lawyer.
My case had been handled by two other attorneys, but had been
denied. I was told my case is too difficult or hopeless.
I would like to hire you as my attorney, but I have
heard from your competitors, and from gossip in the community,
that you are expensive. Is this true?
Very truly yours,
R.F.
I welcome your questions, because I am also aware
of people saying I am expensive, and I'm not afraid to address
this issue.
The price or cost of legal services can depend on
a number of factors, including:
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Whether a case involves previous denials, fraud,
etc.
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Complexity and difficulty of the legal matter.
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Amount of time and work to be spent on the case.
If a case is difficult or complicated, then it is
logical that it would require more time, paperwork, and effort
to handle. Just like in medicine, if a person has a headache,
an aspirin could "cure" the ailment at a very low price.
But if the person has a brain tumor, and extensive surgery is
needed, the "treatment" would obviously be more expensive.
A person cannot expect to remove a brain tumor for the price of
an aspirin.
The same is true with a person's immigration case.
If the case is simple, straightforward, and has no previous denials
or fraud, then the price or cost is a lot less than a case with
lots of problems, complications, suspicious circumstances, or
denials. So, when people start comparing prices or costs,
it is important that they compare the same type of cases or problems.
You can't compare the price of a simple case to the price of a
difficult or complex one. If the case is simple and straightforward,
the price is less.
I know that some people think they can save money,
by having work done by "immigration consultants".
However, immigration consultants are not lawyers, and are prohibited
from practicing law, or even offering legal advice. Many
"clients" of these consultants end up with more problems
than they had before, and these consultants were even charging
the same prices of attorneys.
In fact, my wife, who is a Filipina (and my office
manager with a degree in Business Economics) continually surveys
and monitors the "market", making sure that our prices
are competitive with other law offices, based on the various factors
which determine price. Our prices depend on the complexity
and difficulty of the cases. Many of our cases are complex,
had been previously denied, or had been handled by other attorneys
who eventually just "gave up". In fact, some of
the cases I am most proud of include:
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A woman was charged with trying to bring two
kids "not her own" (the blood tests of mother and
children did not match). We nevertheless took on the
case and got visas for the children by proving that the blood
tests were not reliable or inconclusive.
-
Despite a family's earlier use of fake birth
certificates, and other fraud, we were able to get a greencard
for the daughter who arrived in the U.S. three days before
her 21st birthday.
-
After a woman's visa was revoked due to "alien
smuggling" charges. We took the case, cleared her
name of alien smuggling, and got her a greencard.
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We obtained greencards for a man's three undeclared,
illegitimate children, even though when he got his own greencard,
he told the Embassy he had no children.
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We obtained a court order requiring the INS
to retroactively grant a greencard to a client who had "aged-out"
(or reached the age of 21), despite opinions by several other
attorneys who said it was "impossible" to win the
case.
The list of complex cases we had handled could go
on and on, but I am proud of our track record of success with
these difficult cases. While a person should certainly consider
price in choosing an attorney, no one can argue with the fact
that results are "priceless".
In addition, I am a firm believer in providing the
best quality service to our clients and their cases. Our
office has attorneys (not paralegals) handling the case.
Our attorneys provide the legal advice to clients, while paralegals
only assist the attorneys. (Other offices have paralegals
handle cases from start to finish. Those offices can charge
less, because a paralegal's salary is less than an attorney's.)
I also believe that clients' calls are very important, so we make
sure that all clients' telephone calls are returned within 24
hours. As soon as there are any developments on a client's
case, we immediately notify them, so they always know what is
going on. Our clients are never in the dark about their
case, or feel that they are being ignored.
In addition, in a further effort to provide the
best quality service to our clients, we have an office in the
Philippines, to accommodate your family back home with consular
processing needs. I can tell you it costs a lot of money
in terms of rent, employee salaries, computers, and supplies to
run an office. Although it costs a lot of money to keep
the Philippine office open, I believe my clients are worth it,
so that we can immediately attend to what may be needed in the
Philippines (especially with the Embassy), and the family in America
is assured that their relatives in the Philippines are taken cared
of.
In conclusion, paying more for quality service is
better than paying less and getting nothing.
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