I’ve had to turn away a good number of clients, and I have tried very hard to explain to each why that is. It strikes me as a good idea to outline this policy a bit here. So far, the majority of the people I have turned away are prospective students. There are two scenarios that seem to be unfolding:
Scenario 1: You want to go to X Law School, and from my initial conversation, I can tell it seems immensely probable you will get into X School, and likely with scholarship money. What will become an underlying theme in this post is that I can’t do anything for you. The combination of what you are bringing to the table as an applicant vis-a-vis the school(s) you are telling me where you want to attend has me feeling great about your situation. Dot every “i” and cross every “t” and let me know how it goes.
Scenario 2: You have your heart set on one (or possibly a select few, although this has not happened) law schools, and everything you are telling me makes me think that until something changes substantially, it just is not likely at all. I am more than happy to offer some advice on other schools to apply to, but if your mind is made up on Yale, for example, and if I think there is very little chance you will get admitted to Yale, I won’t take you on as a client. In the end, this would serve us both poorly.
I can say with confidence that everyone who knows me (or this venture) well knows that I would not be doing this any other way than the right way. We have had and will continue to have tremendous success stories. There will also be periods of frustration–that I profoundly hope to minimize–for some clients. If I ever think that the latter is more likely than the former, I am going to let you know upfront.