Law courts building

Casual Legal Advice

Receive legal advice from our municipal law firm for an annual fee.

Lawyers are expensive and retaining one to answer a simple legal question is not a cost-effective option for our members. The MIABC’s Casual Legal Advice (CLA) Program allows our members to receive legal advice from our municipal law firm for an annual fee. By subscribing to the program, members can speak to a municipal lawyer, free of charge, for 30 minutes. In the event that our member’s question cannot be answered in that time, our member can retain that lawyer subject to a predetermined fee schedule.

How it Works

  • Once you have enrolled in the CLA program, the MIABC will send you an orientation package which includes a hotline phone number and email address.
  • To access the legal advice service, employees of your local government or organization can use these contact methods to submit their legal question on local government matters.
  • Time to answer each question is limited to 30 minutes and involves no legal research or preparation of documents.
  • There are no limits on the number of times a CLA subscriber may call to obtain advice.

The legal advice is provided to the local government, and not to the MIABC. For each casual legal matter, a legal services contract (characterized by privilege and confidentiality) exists between the law firm and the local government. The identity of the local government, the advice, and the matter itself remain confidential, as between the law firm and the local government.

Matters Exceeding 30 Minutes

If a CLA subscriber contacts Lidstone & Company in good faith for the 30-minute advice service by email or phone, but the matter takes longer than 30 minutes (by mutual agreement of the subscriber and the law firm), then the subscriber is entitled to a discounted hourly rate, billed to the subscriber, for the continued legal service.

How to Enroll

You can enroll in the program by paying your premium invoice and including the optional amount for Casual Legal Advice services. You can find the optional amount (somewhere between $350 and $1,000 depending on your community’s population) near the bottom of the yearly premium invoice. If you would like any additional information about our Casual Legal Advice Program, get in touch with our team.

Casual Legal Advise Enrollment Form

Additional Benefits Subscribing members will also receive free quarterly newsletters, regular bulletins on court decisions and legislation, templates and checklists, and an invitation to an annual, one-day local government law seminar and luncheon.