role: user

text: new email!


role: assistant

text:
New email is from **Alan E. Freed** (Feb 21, 2026 1:39pm PT). He says:

- “It’s premature to schedule a full consultation. I need to get some information from you first.”
- “We can talk at **9:30 PST**.”
- Call him at **314-244-3653**.

Two questions so I reply correctly (and I’ll show you the exact draft before sending):
1. Is that **9:30am PT on Monday (Feb 23)**, or **tomorrow/Sunday**, or something else?
2. Do you want to do it as a **phone call to his direct line**, or ask for Zoom?


text: 1 i dont know?  2. whatevers easiest.  3. ask if he has intake forms i can fill ib the meantime to expedite the process.


text:
Draft reply to Freed (not sent):

**To:** `afreed@pcblawfirm.com`
**From:** `qarl@qarl.com`
**Subject:** `Re: Collaborative divorce consult request (Missouri)`

```text
Hi Mr. Freed,

Thank you. Just to confirm: when you say 9:30 PST, do you mean Monday (Feb 23) at 9:30am Pacific? If so, I’ll call you at 314-244-3653.

Also, if you have an intake form/questionnaire (or a short list of information you want from me first), I’m happy to fill it out in advance to expedite things.

Thank you,
Karl Stiefvater
qarl@qarl.com
```

If you say **“send this”**, I’ll send it as-is.


text: send this (with no \n please)


text: Sent to `afreed@pcblawfirm.com` from `qarl@qarl.com` with proper line breaks (no literal `\n`).


text: why is it premature to schedule a consult?


text:
Usually that means “screening first, advice later.”

Common reasons a lawyer will say that:

- **Conflict check + basic eligibility** before they spend an hour giving real advice.
- They treat a “full consultation” as a **paid, in-depth strategy meeting**, and they want **intake info** first so it’s productive.
- In **collaborative** specifically, they may want to confirm it’s actually a fit (both spouses willing, no active litigation/emergency issues, jurisdiction basics, etc.).
- Plain time-management: they won’t calendar a long consult until they know it’s likely to move forward.

So I’d read it as “I’ll talk at 9:30, but I want to collect basics first,” not as a brush-off. On the 9:30 call, it’s fair to ask whether that call is a brief screening vs the paid consult, and what info/forms he wants ahead of time.


text: ok cool.  he also wants to know if i can pay...


text: I’m going to pull the latest Freed email (bounded recent scan + snippet) so we can reply to exactly what he asked about ability to pay.