What Questions Should I Ask in a Legal Consultation?

During a legal consultation, you have the opportunity to carefully go through your case with a lawyer. As you share the details of the incident, your lawyer can let you know what kind of compensation you can expect, and how strong of a case you have. A legal consultation is also the time to learn more about the lawyer, and determine whether you’ll have a positive working relationship.

It’s important to come prepared to your legal consultation so that you can ask the appropriate questions and go home with the information you need to make a wise choice. Here are some questions that can help:

IS MY CASE COMMON?

The legal system is built on understanding precedents. An attorney that is familiar with your type of lawsuit will be able to identify any issues that might come up in your case and they should be able to prepare you for these issues. This is also a time to learn what kind of experience your attorney has with this kind of case.

WHAT IS THE LIKELY OUTCOME?

An experienced lawyer will rarely be able to predict the exact outcome of your lawsuit during the legal consultation because each case is different. However, they will be able to talk to you about similar outcomes for similar cases they have represented through the years, as well as the strength of the evidence that you have.

WHAT IS THE COST?

When it comes time to end the legal consultation and leave the office you should have a clear understanding of the costs including fees and general expenses for the lawsuit. Many accident lawyers offer a contingency fee ie; you only pay a fee if they help you win your case.

That being said, it’s important to understand possible extra expenses such as hard costs. Hard costs are expenses a lawyer will spend for you out of pocket which you can expect to pay back.

WHO ELSE IS ON THE CASE?

Just because you talk to one specific lawyer during your legal consultation doesn’t mean this is the one you will be dealing with. Often one lawyer will take the case but another will actually be your lawyer. A lawyer that works in a large firm might use associates for the lawsuit. Before you leave, ask who you will be working with and if you can meet them.

For a free consultation contact Sloat & Nicholson at 1-800-873-3202.