Legal Hotline do’s and don’ts

The PAR Legal Hotline is 20 years old. Thousands of calls later, we’re still in business. Some of you we know by voice: your calls make us laugh, cry, wince and sympathize. We have forged friendships over the Hotline and have come to learn and share in your trials and tribulations.  We are always gratified to hear your heartfelt thanks at the conclusion of most calls.

Let me reiterate some of the rules for Hotline use:

• Please call us between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. weekdays. Calls placed outside of Hotline hours cannot be returned. Calls placed within these hours are returned the same day, though we can’t promise to make multiple calls when we’re unable to locate you on the first call. Leave us a cell-phone number that will alert you to our call.
• When leaving a message on the Hotline, speak slowly and clearly. Leave your full name and spell your last name. Be sure to include the area code with your phone number. (You would be surprised by the number of messages that do not include this important information!)
• When leaving a message, please do not state your question.  Sometimes names and numbers are retrieved by support staff who cannot adequately convey all the details of your message to the Hotline attorney. We have so many calls each day that retrieving Hotline messages with lengthy messages becomes burdensome. Your name – spelled clearly — and telephone number are sufficient.
• With rare exception, we provide voice responses only.  We can’t put our answers in writing since it would tax the limited resources that are available to answer the thousands of calls we take annually.

Remember — the Hotline is not a substitute for obtaining your own legal counsel. Its purpose is to provide non-adversarial legal information. Our answer is always based on the facts provided; even a slight variation of the facts may lead to a different answer. Our advice is not to be quoted and is not intended as guidance for your clients or customers. You are urged to obtain legal counsel and to encourage your buyers, sellers, lessees and lessors to do the same.

That said, we look forward to the next 20 years of serving you.