In confronting your legal situation, you have the right to represent yourself. Increasingly, with the availability of on-line statutes, self-help kits and preprinted materials, you may feel that you have adequate resources to handle a matter without the necessity of obtaining counsel. You might be right. However, before deciding to represent yourself, you should recognize that lawyers have been specifically trained to analyze the resources that may be available to you. Lawyers have used these materials in the past and can appreciate the nuances involved in a way that the novice would not be able to do. On-line resources may not be tailored to Wisconsin or may be outdated. Our firm has access to the most up-to-date and jurisdiction-specific materials available.

Between the hardware store and the internet, anyone could probably get the tools, the materials, and the knowledge to build a brick house. But would you want to live in a brick house built by your lawyer?

All of the lawyers of Hopp Neumann Humke are licensed to practice law in the State of Wisconsin. They are all entitled to draft deeds, appear in court and to prepare a will. However, at our firm, we have attempted to focus our legal skills among the six main practice areas described elsewhere. We want to maximize our talents and provide you with the best product available.

One of the benefits of working with a larger firm such as Hopp Neumann Humke is that we will endeavor to match the best attorney in our firm to your specific situation. You should feel confident that whoever handles your matter will be able to draw upon the resources of the entire firm, while providing you with personalized attention.

At the initial conference, you should offer to the lawyer your fullest explanation of your situation. You should bring any documents or other materials that help you tell your story. You should provide information with complete candor and without slanting the facts. We will in turn attempt to evaluate the matter and offer our suggestions in the approach to take. We will try to offer information which outlines the consequences of various potential outcomes. We will try to estimate success in the event that litigation is involved. We will attempt to calculate and estimate the costs and fees and we will work with you to establish a fee agreement. If you conclude that you will not be retaining us, any information that you have provided to us in the course of the interview will remain confidential.

It is unethical for a lawyer to charge excessive fees. For most matters our fees are based on our established hourly rate. If we anticipate that the legal fees will exceed $1,000 or if we handle your matter on a contingent fee basis, we will prepare a written fee agreement (sometimes called an engagement letter) for you to sign. It will detail how much we are going to charge, how billings will be handled, what costs will be passed on to you, and what we should be expecting of each other.

Virtually all of your questions should be addressed in the fee agreement and you will be asked to sign it before we engage in any substantial work on your behalf.