The TV Advertisement Said, "A Lawyer Will Come to Your House"
I recently saw an advertisement for a lawyer, that said if you call that lawyer, the lawyer will come to your house, even after business hours. If that was true, it would be a nice convenience for the potential injury client, but if a "lawyer" is not coming to your house, and instead it is a "contract runner" or other non-lawyer, then the advertisement is false, misleading and deceptive at best.
When you hire a lawyer, you are entitled to meet with a lawyer to discuss your case and sign a contract for legal representation. You should be able to sit down face to face with the lawyer you are hiring to discuss your case and sign the contract for representation. This meeting is perhaps the most important meeting you will have with your lawyer. In addition, when a lawyer comes to your house, you miss out on the opportunity to see what the lawyers office looks like, meet the legal staff, and see how you are treated when you visit the firm. The only contact you may have is with the person that came to your house or hospital room.
Often high volume law firms that advertise on television employ contract runners, but may call them "investigators". These are usually non-lawyers, anyone with a drivers license, that will come out to your home or hospital room, sometimes in the middle of the night, with a contract for legal representation.
You should be aware that only a lawyer is legally allowed to give legal advice, including answering questions you might have about signing the contact to hire the lawyer. If a non-lawyer is advising you about a legal agreement, that would be a violation of the Florida Bar rules.
You should not agree to meet with a contract runner, and avoid hiring this type of firm. You should insist that you meet with the lawyer you are hiring. Unless the contract runner (investigator) is also a lawyer, that person is not allowed by law to answer any legal questions you might have about the contract or about the representation.
If your first contact with a law firm is a non-lawyer "contract runner" coming to your house at night, this should be a red flag, this should raise concern over whether you should hire this law firm. Only agree to meet with a real lawyer, not a contact runner, and if possible, meet at the lawyers office.
