Two people shaking hands across a table at the end of a meeting.

Insights

General guidance on working with a law firm. These notes are informational and are not legal advice on any particular situation.

Preparing for a first consultation

Bring the documents that define the relationship in question, such as the contract, the lease, the policy or the will, together with a short chronology of what has happened. A dated sequence of events is often more useful than a long narrative, and it shortens the time spent establishing facts.

The governing document and any amendments
Correspondence between the parties, in date order
A one-page chronology of key events
The outcome you would consider a good result

Understanding cost and timing

Two matters that look similar can differ substantially in cost, usually because of how the other side behaves and how complete the documentation is. Ask for the basis of charging in writing, ask what would cause an estimate to change, and ask what the realistic timeline looks like if the matter is contested.

Basis of charging and what it covers
Disbursements and third-party costs
The point at which the estimate is reviewed
What happens if the matter resolves early

Keeping records that hold up later

Contemporaneous records carry weight precisely because they were made before anyone knew they would matter. Keeping decisions, approvals and instructions in writing at the time is one of the least expensive forms of legal protection available to a business.

Record decisions when they are made, not afterwards
Keep signed copies of every executed document
Note who approved a variation and when
Preserve records once a dispute becomes foreseeable

Guidance by practice area

Each practice area page sets out the matters handled, how the work proceeds and the questions clients ask most often.