Peter Broida represents clients before the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals and before the MSPB, FLRA, EEOC, and labor arbitrators nationwide. He represents federal employees, federal sector unions, and federal agencies. The office is located in Arlington, Virginia.

A consultation consists of a conversation with Mr. Broida, lasting between half an hour or an hour or so, by telephone or office visit, for which the current charge is $200.

During the consultation, the client and Mr. Broida will discuss the problem that confronts the client and then determine if the problem can be addressed through the civil service or EEO system, whether legal counsel seems advisable, what the steps of the legal process would be, and the cost associated with those steps.

On occasion, a problem that is discussed during the consultation can be resolved very quickly, and sometimes the consultation is prelude to years of litigation.

Consultations are not conducted by mail or e-mail.

Prior to any consultation, there will be a conversation initiated by the person seeking legal assistance with a staff member in Mr. Broida’s office, who will take basic information about the problem and basic information about the individual seeking assistance. Only the individual directly involved in the matter should be involved in a consultation and in the initial intake call. That means that friends, spouses, and other interested individuals should not be calling on behalf of the individual needing legal assistance.

When Mr. Broida reviews the intake information, he will make an assessment of whether he can conduct the consultation or decline the consultation and attempt to provide to the caller the names of other counsel who might be able to provide assistance. When Mr. Broida declines a consultation, it is not his judgment on the case; it may be that he does not have the time to become involved in the consultation or the litigation that may be the subject of the consultation, or he may believe that another attorney is better able than he is to assist the caller.

The consultation is not continuing representation. The consultation concludes at the end of the office visit or telephone discussion in which the consultation is conducted. When the consultation is scheduled, Mr. Broida will describe any documents that he believes the client should bring to the consultation or send in advance of the consultation.

Following the consultation process, if the client desires representation by Mr. Broida and if he decides to provide assistance, then representation is undertaken through a written retainer agreement that will provide a description of the exact scope of work that is to be undertaken, the hourly rate for the work, and the retainer agreement will set a retainer that will be paid into Mr. Broida’s trust account against which bills will be paid. Once the trust account fund is exhausted, the client must pay monthly bills when they are mailed to the client. The hourly rate for Mr. Broida in effect for 2010 is $350 per hour, and time is billed in increments of 1/10 of an hour, plus expenses.