Follow your instincts when a client gives you the heebie-jeebies.

A colleague once told me that "you make your money on the cases you don't take." What he meant, obviously, was to screen your clients and your cases to make sure you're not wasting your time on work that will not make you money commensurate with the time and effort involved in the case.

One of the worst things about being a starving solo is the tension between knowing that you should follow that very wise adage and your need to sign up a client — and, as it inevitably seems sometimes, almost any client — willing to pay. That need produces the temptation to consider taking on clients you would give a strong shove out the door almost immediately if you were not so desperate. That temptation is strong, strong, STRONG.

Don't cave in to it. For your own sake, I'm begging you.

I say this from bitter — and I do mean bitter — experience. Sadly, in many cases, I succumbed to the temptation to evaluate a case way beyond the point I should have cut the prospect loose. I can't even begin to tell you the hours I've wasted looking at documents to see if a prospect had a case, only to finally decide that I should not have wasted my time.

Keep in mind, I'm not necessarily talking about the merits of a case, though the issue often arises in that context. I'm talking about turning down even good cases if there are signs the client will be difficult to deal with.

There are some signs thrown off by client prospects that, in my opinion, mean you should run, not walk, away from them. If they're in your office already, shoo them out the door. If you're on the phone or in an email exchange, simply tell then you can't take the case. You get the picture.

Here are just a few of the things to look for:

• The prospect has already been represented on the case (or, worse yet, the prospect has gone through two or more attorneys already).

• The prospect represented himself before consulting you.

• The prospect dodges questions on ability to pay.

• The prospect takes a long time to sign the fee agreement.

• The prospect doesn't let you get a word in edgewise.

• The prospect says every other lawyer he has consulted says he has a great case.

• The prospect says "but" to every point you raise about the merits of the case.

I'll expand on the rationale for each of these in future posts. Unfortunately, I can explain not only the rationales, but can also relate personal experiences that resulted from being so desperate I was willing to overlook the signs and took the client anyway.

If I can do it without causing too much pain from the flashbacks, I'll post later about some of the situations I encountered because I did not follow my instincts. For now, just take my word for it.

To those of you starving out there with a client prospect that appears willing to pay you but whose conduct resembles any of the above, causing a little voice inside your head to say "Don't take this client! Don't take his case!" I say: listen to that voice, and show that prospect the door as fast as you can. Then devote some time to pulling in a better client.

Again, I'm begging you.