Questions of Law:

The most obvious purpose of the initial consultation is to allow you (the prospective client) to share your needs or concerns, and for the attorney to tell you about the relevant laws.  The purpose of the initial consultation is NOT to provide a final or definite legal opinion on your particular situation because the specific facts of a situation are critical to a complete evaluation.  You really do not want anyone to give you a final analysis without taking the time to review the laws with your facts in mind.

Sometimes, a general overview of the law is sufficient and all of your questions are answered and all of your needs are met.  In many cases our attorneys try to give you information on how to handle things yourself so that you will perhaps not need the services of an attorney.  This happens most often in cases where you want to receive small sums of money from someone or where you want to file a petition for custody of your child.

Working Together:

Another purpose of the initial consultation is for you and the attorney to get to know each other to make sure you can work together effectively.​

Whatever your legal need, it is one of the most important things in your life at that time, and you want to make sure you feel comfortable with the attorney that will be handling that situation for you.

The attorney also needs to feel sure that he/she can work effectively with you as a potential client.​

Sometimes personalities just don't mesh well, and the initial consultation is the best place to discover that.​​

Conflict Checking:

There is also the possibility that the attorney is not going to be able to represent you because of a conflict.  The initial consultation allows the attorney to get more information so that he/she can effectively check to make sure that there is no conflict.

Defining the terms of the representation:

You and the attorney will need to agree on the scope of the representation, the time frames involved, the fees involved and how you will communicate with each other.

At Beavers Law, P.C., we use an 'engagement letter' to define the attorney-client relationship.  This letter serves as the contract between the lawfirm and the client and outlines the obligations and duties of both the attorney and the client.