Hiring a lawyer 101 - From the lawyer's perspective

I get a call or an email - the person has some questions or has been told they should call or lawyer or thinks they might need help or knows they need help or don't know what to do.  What is my thought process in assessing whether to try to assist the prospective client?

1. Conflicts of interest?  The first pass is to determine whether there is a likely or possible dispute and then to identify the other party or parties involved.  I then run a database search to check for conflicts of interest.  The rules of professional responsibility have strict prohibitions about what a lawyer can and cannot do depending upon whether an opposing party is a current or former client and whether there is an actual or merely possible conflict of interest.  My practice is generally to simply avoid representation opposed to current or former clients.
2. Area of practice?  Assuming that I might be permitted to assist the person without a conflict of interest, I then must determine whether the inquiry relates to my practice area.  If not, I try to point the person in the right direction with a referral.
3. Size/scope of problem?  Next I try to figure out what ballpark is likely to be the venue for the problem.  While there are far too many unknowns during an initial discussion to predict an outcome, I typically can tell which generally category the problem falls into - simple transaction, simple (small claims) dispute, complicated transaction, complicated dispute, etc.  This information is helpful both for me to assess whether I have the time and resources currently available to assist and to get a ballpark on the ...
4. Fee (or Fee to Determine Fee).  I discuss fees immediately with prospective clients to let them know, based upon my understanding of the size and scope of the problem, what type of fees were involved in similar matters in the past.  For routine transactions, I am able to offer a flat fee.  For example, my current (as of 2018) flat fee for a standard home sale representation (within specified parameters) is $750.  My current hourly rate is $250/hour.  For many matters for which a flat fee isn't possible, I still am able to agree upon a fee range or a fee not to exceed.  For more complicated matters, we have to break the scope of work into phases, and we often cannot estimate the fee for the next phase until we complete the preceding phase.  For example, for disputes, I require a $2,000 non-refundable advance fee.  This pays for up to 8 hours of my time to assess the case, plan a course of action, and take initial steps.  We do not and cannot know how long, how complicated, or how expensive the battle will be until we begin the process.  Litigation can take tens of years and hundreds of thousands of dollars.  As the case develops, we are able to better estimate the expense and likely outcome.  There are never any guarantees, but it is relatively certain that litigation will be slow, expensive, frustrating, and unsatisfying.  However, sometimes there are no better alternatives.
5. Personality?  When a person is interviewing me, I assume they are judging whether they want to work with me.  I am doing the same.  Especially with longer engagements, I have to consider whether this is the type of person that I will regret having as a client?

I try to do all of the above during an initial communication or two (via phone or email).  If we both agree to proceed with representation, then I forward confirmation of retainer, the person agrees to those terms, and we begin my representation.  At that point, the person is my "client."