What to Expect at a Legal Consultation?
Many attorneys offer both free consultations and paid consultations with a dependency on what you are trying to accomplish. Generally speaking, attorneys will not give legal advice without first being hired by the client. The reason behind this is not that attorneys are greedy or stingy with their services, in fact, this is typically a requirement from many malpractice insurance carriers. The purpose of a free legal consultation is not to obtain specific legal advice in the consultation, but instead for you to determine whether you’d like to hire the attorney while allowing the attorney to determine if they believe they can help you achieve your legal goals.
What happens during an initial consultation?
Most consultations start with a brief description of what you need help with. This allows the attorney to get a grasp on the issues you are facing and begin to see where they can, or cannot, be of assistance to you. In your initial consultation you can expect that the attorney will ask you a set of targeted questions to determine things like the nature of your legal issue, your legal options, whether they can assist you, your prospects of success and what the work load would look like to achieve your goal. You can expect at the end of the initial consultation an idea from the attorney on your chances of success and the cost to proceed. The attorney will likely either quote you a flat fee or a retainer amount to proceed.
How to prepare for a legal consultation?
Knowing how to select the right attorney to pursue a consultation with is vitally important. We’ve shared a few steps previously on how to choose the right lawyer and that is incredibly important in the consultation phase. Finding someone who is easy to talk with, experienced in your issue area, and someone who has a good track record will help you achieve your goals. Remember, you could be investing a lot in your legal endeavor, never be too shy to ask the important questions to ensure this is the right legal fit for you. Finding out the strategy of the lawyer is important as well. Another important question to ask is what they think your chances of success might be. Also finding out how the firm will handle your case and what working with the attorney will actually look like can give you a glimpse into your comfortability with your decision.
Remember, meeting with a lawyer for an initial consultation is not a time to get free legal advice, but instead it is an opportunity to get a sense as to whether this lawyer is the right one to handle your case.