NATION'S RESTAURANT NEWS
The Newsweekly of the Foodservice Industry
Vol. 35, No. 12 March 19, 2001
Jeffrey Hughes: Attorney brews café-based law practice
When attorney Jeffrey Hughes opened The Legal Grind Coffee & Counsel five years ago in Santa Monica, Calif., he envisioned a nationwide rollout of a café concept that stirs affordable legal advice into its menu mix.
Now those plans are moving forward he says, after 5the American Bar Association honored him with its Louis M. Brown Award for Legal Access. The resulting publicity has kept his phone ringing with offers from attorneys nationwide who want to open Legal Grind branches in their towns...
Legal Grind customers choose from two menus: the “Legal Grind” beverage choices and the “Justice Served Daily” list of attorney services and prices. Beverages include such trademarked items as Hughes’ espresso-based “Law-tte” and freshly prepared juices called the “Legal Squeeze.”
His legal services range from a 10-minute session with an attorney for $20 to the drafting of a living trust for $600. Customers also can browse legal self-help books or purchase time online.
Why did you come to base your law practice in a café?
I started in the restaurant business when I was 13 years old, and I always wanted to have a café. Then I got my law degree. My grandfather had this piece of property, and it was all there. I wanted a place that would build trust, because there is a trust deficiency between consumers and the legal profession. I use a café atmosphere with a menu of legal services.
How do you plan to expand your brand?
I’m looking for non-attorney partners who know the restaurant business to co-brand with. I’d like to find existing restaurants near a courthouse.
There must be some peace of mind in expanding since you have copyrighted the brand and trademarked items on your legal and food menus.
Actually, in Canada and Texas there are attorneys infringing on the trademark, and we’ll probably have to litigate. They’re attorneys as well, so it could get really nasty. It’s an example of who we don’t want to be.
--Amy Spector
