Like paying the doctor with a chicken?

Since the domicile of my recently-deceased aunt is in Washington State and I am in Michigan, I have hired an attorney out there to take care of the basic legal matters relating to her will and probate and such like.  I was lucky to find a very nice man, Michael by name, who is retired now but still takes cases, especially for the elderly, partly to keep busy but mostly just to help people out. He does some pro bono work, but even for paying customers like me, his hourly rate is low.

We talked on the phone a couple days ago. I had several questions for him, and before we concluded the call, he wanted to make sure I understood that he does not bill clients for the time spent talking on the telephone. He stressed that I should feel free to call him any time I needed legal advice about my aunt’s estate.

Most lawyers bill a client for every minute they spend even thinking about their case. This guy is unique, and I told him so.

He said people are usually surprised, and he told me about one man for whom he handled a legal matter. The man stopped by Michael’s house with some papers, and they spent the better part of an hour talking about the case, among other things. When he was preparing to leave, he asked, “What do I owe you for today?”  He was surprised when Michael said he owed nothing. “I don’t charge for conversations we have at my kitchen table drinking coffee,” he told him.

This man, who had what Michael called a “hobby farm,” knew the lawyer was an avid gardener, so by way of thanks, he stopped by Michael’s house the next day with three bushel baskets of cow manure for his garden.

“I can’t think of anything more appropriate,” Michael said, “than a lawyer being paid with bull shit.”