FRONTIER MAGAZINE
SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 1999
Local COLOR
Justice is served
Customers at the Legal Grind® coffee shop in Santa Monica, California, can order their espressos with double shots of legal advice.
Attorney Jeffrey Hughes opened the coffee shop/legal-consultation service three and a half years ago after growing tired of another grind: the lengthy work week that usually goes along with practicing law.
The cozy shop has a contemporary feel, with its blond wood tables and leather chairs. The chalkboard menu lists lawttes instead of lattes, and the bookshelf holds self-help law books rather than literature. A sign in the back declares:' Justice Served Daily®,' and $20 buys customers both a coffee and a consultation with one of 10 licensed attorneys.
Most of the consultations at Legal Grind involve simple questions, often about family law or being sued. People panic when they have to go into a courtroom, says attorney Mark Palmer. Much of his time in the coffee shop is spent assuring clients that court isn't like it's portrayed on television, with crowds of onlookers and attorneys yelling at witnesses.
Hughes recently expanded the business to include document preparation and attorney referral (also done through the Web site www.legalgrind.com). He also added a second shop, the Legal Grind Annex, in Tarzana, California, last December.
But what about Legal Grind's coffee? "I've been told I make good foam," Hughes says with pride.
By LORI A. DOWNS
