I'm sure every law office faces this.  We get people who are not our clients calling to have an attorney answer their question over the phone.  Sometimes, they frame the requests as "an initial consultation over the phone." 

We offer initial consultations for free, but we won't do them over the phone.  Why is that?  I'm going to be blunt, and may turn some people off in the process.

First, it helps to understand what an initial consultation is.  John H. Carney gives a good description here, in which he states:

"An initial consultation should provide you with a "road map" of where you are, where you’re going and what your legal rights and obligations are. If you plan to proceed without an attorney, it is even more important that you begin with an informed understanding of your rights, interests, and obligations.

During an initial consultation, the attorney will discuss applicable issues of law and how they apply to the specific facts of your case. By the end of the consultation, you should understand the issues of your case, [and ] the costs of retaining counsel ..."

In order to give you this "road map", the attorney can't just answer a quick question over the phone.  As Carney, writes: "... in order to give sound legal advice, an attorney should speak with you at length about the details of your case so that the legal advice is tailored to your specific circumstances."  So, the question might be quick.  However, it will probably be answered with another question, and then another.  So, giving a well-reasoned answer will be anything but quick. 

Consider whether you would have the same expectation of other professionals.  Do you call a doctor's office where you are not a patient and expect them to give you free medical advice?  These doctors will give you a telephone consultation, but only after you send over your medical records and answer a 20-page questionnaire.  That's so the consultation will actually be an informed one.  And, as you might guess, they don't review those records and questionnaire and talk to you on the phone for free.

If you aren't looking for a well-reasoned answer but just have a "quick question", that doesn't do you or the attorney any favors.  You risk getting incomplete or inaccurate answers because the attorney doesn't have all the information or the time to do the necessary research for free and the attorney risks getting in trouble later for giving you a wrong answer.  So, the attorney is in a lose/lose situation, giving away his professional experience for free and putting his neck on the line in doing so.

Sometimes, the resistance to an in-office consultation isn't about paying for services but someone really can't come in to see us. I understand that if you are out of state or homebound, and will try to accommodate, but even then I find that the consultation loses a lot if it can't be done in person.  We can't communicate with body language or by drawing diagrams. 

If you are in the Denver metro area and are capable of traveling but just "too busy" to come in, I don't think that bodes well for the mutual respect that should be in every attorney/client relationship.  I have invited you to my office and I am offering to give my time to you for free.    Given that, is it really all that unreasonable to ask you to travel to my office in exchange?