Choosing a lawyer is an individual’s first and most important step in getting the best result for their legal issue. In order to make a legal consultation as productive as possible, an individual needs to prepare in advance. The individual wants to prepare to present their issue effectively, so the lawyer has the information they need to offer a possible course of action.
The individual also wants to prepare questions for the attorney in order to help them determine if the attorney is the best one to represent them in their dispute or complete their task.
It is important to remember that a first consultation should last about 30 minutes to an hour at most. Of course, all conversations an individual has with an attorney are confidential, with certain limited exceptions that should not apply to a first consultation.
One major goal is to determine if the lawyer has the experience needed to serve the individual in connection with their issue. So the individual should prepare to explain what they need as clearly as possible. In addition, the individual does not want to address every last detail of their situation. They want to prepare a brief but complete explanation of what they need.
So, for example, if an individual needs an estate plan, they want to tell the lawyer what they want them to do, i.e., prepare an estate plan. They would then want to tell the lawyer about their major assets as these give the lawyer an indication of what kind of estate plan a person would require.
This is true whether they need a will, whether creating a trust or trusts would be necessary, whether certain assets could pass to named beneficiaries outside of a will and outside of probate.
Again, a person would not want to present every detail about their assets and financial situation, but rather to give an overview of what their estate plan would need to address. It would pay for an individual to sit down before a consultation and think about how to present their issue briefly and clearly, but completely.
What Should I Wear When Meeting a Lawyer for the First Time?
When meeting a lawyer for the first time, a person wants to dress in business attire. It can be business casual if that is what a potential client wants to do. But they should keep in mind that they are making a first impression. First impressions can be critical to the future of a relationship.
A relationship with a lawyer is a business relationship, and a client may want to communicate that they appreciate this fact. A good lawyer would demonstrate this in their appearance as well.
Which Documents Should I Prepare for My Appointment With a California Lawyer?
An individual wants to have gathered up all of the documents that are relevant to their legal issue before they start talking to lawyers about representing them. They want to make copies of their documents, both for themselves and possibly to pass them on to their lawyer when they decide to hire one.
They might take key documents to their first meeting with their lawyer. When they hire a lawyer, the lawyer would then discuss the documents that are relevant to the case, and the lawyer would tell the client which documents they need to have for their work.
What Should Be Discussed During the Legal Consultation?
An individual who is looking for a lawyer to represent them wants to ask the lawyer about their qualification to deal with the individual’s issue, about how much it would cost to hire them and how the lawyer would address the individual’s issue.
Of course, legal fees should be one of the topics they address. When an individual hires a lawyer, they should have a clear idea of how they will be charged and billed for the lawyer’s services.
In a lawyer appointment, an individual should also ask the questions they think are important in choosing a lawyer.
What Questions Should I Ask the Lawyer About My Legal Issue?
An individual who is consulting a lawyer for the first time wants to ask the lawyer about their qualifications, especially their experience in the type of issue for which the individual needs a lawyer’s services.
After presenting their issue to the attorney, whether they need representation in a potential lawsuit or completion of a task, e.g., review of an employment contract, they then want to ask the attorney how the attorney would proceed with their issue. The attorney should be able to briefly explain how they would go about doing the job they are hired to do.
If the client has been served with a complaint, the attorney should be able to explain how they are going to go about responding to the complaint and what the client could expect after that.
If the client wants an employment contract review, the attorney should be able to explain how they would review it and what issues they would give special scrutiny, e.g., whether the contract contains a non-compete agreement and what that would mean for the employee. The individual would then want to know how the attorney plans to communicate their analysis to the individual.
A prospective client wants to know how they can communicate with the lawyer. They could ask the lawyer if they have a policy about responding to client communications, e.g., would they return a phone call, text message, or email within 24 hours or 48 hours? What exactly can the client expect in this regard?
They would want to know how long the lawyer would take to complete a task, e.g., create an estate plan, and when the individual can expect to hear that their estate plan is ready to review. Of course, a client would also want to know about the lawyer’s legal fees.
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What Questions Should I Ask the Lawyer About Their Background?
An individual might want to confirm that the attorney is licensed in the state in which they would work with the individual. Some states now license paralegals to provide certain types of legal services. If an individual is looking for a service that only a licensed attorney can provide, they can quickly confirm that the attorney they are consulting is licensed.
An individual then wants to ask the lawyer about their experience in handling the type of issue they have. Of course, a lawyer cannot share too much detailed information about other cases they have handled, but they should be able to share some information about how much experience they have with a certain type of legal problem.
What Questions Should I Expect During the Appointment?
The lawyer with whom an individual consults is going to have questions about the issue that has brought the client to the lawyer’s office. As noted above, a potential client would help their cause by coming to the appointment with as much information as they can provide, maybe not every last detail but complete information. It could be helpful to provide the attorney with information in writing that they might keep if the client hires the lawyer.
For example, if a client is looking for a lawyer to represent them in a personal injury lawsuit for negligence, they would want to provide the lawyer with the names and contact number of the other driver or drivers involved, specifically the driver whose negligence caused the accident. If the client collected license plate numbers and insurance information from the other drivers, they would want to have that information in written form to give to the lawyer.
If the client has names and contact information for other uninvolved witnesses that they may have collected, again, they want to put this in writing to give to the lawyer. They may not want to report every detail about the conversation that they may have had with every witness. However, if they do have notes, at some later date, they might want to discuss these interviews.
If a potential client is looking for a lawyer to draft a partnership agreement for their business, again, they have hopefully had some discussion with their prospective partners about how they want their partnership to function.
They would be able to provide a prospective lawyer with an outline describing the nature of the business, special concerns, e.g., malpractice lawsuits, and generally, what type of partnership they want to have. The details can come later, but the potential client wants to give the lawyer enough information to be able to say whether it is a task they can complete, how much time it would take and what it is likely to cost.
What Should I Aim To Achieve After the Legal Consultation?
After meeting with a California lawyer, the individual should talk to at least one or two other lawyers, if they have not done so already. They might want to make notes after their first lawyer appointment about what they learned, their impressions of the lawyer and what the lawyer told them. They might note how they might improve their own presentation of their issue for the next lawyer interview they have.
At some point, an individual who is seeking a lawyer has to decide that one of the lawyers with whom they have met is the right one. They would then schedule a second appointment to hire the attorney and make a written agreement that should include information about how the client is to be billed.
They should also share additional information the lawyer may need to represent the client or complete the task they have been hired to do.
Should I Hire a Lawyer?
Whether you need representation in a lawsuit or have a significant legal task performed, you want to consult a California lawyer for guidance.
LegalMatch.com can put you in touch with a lawyer who is experienced in dealing with the type of issue you have. You can meet with the lawyer, present your issue and get the information you need to make the best decision about how to proceed.
