INITIAL CONSULTATION
If you’d like to discuss your case with our team, your first step is to schedule a consultation by calling our office or by filling out the contact form on this page. Our office will run a “conflict check.” If there is no conflict with representing you, we will coordinate your initial consultation. Should you require immediate assistance, such as seeking restraining orders to address abuse, harassment, or stalking, please telephone our office and advise us of the urgency. We will accommodate evening and weekend meetings or telephone conferences where circumstances require.
Consultations are mutual interviews. We do not accept any new client unless we trust them, believe we can help, and wish to work with them. All individuals seeking representation should maintain similar standards when they hire counsel. Lawyers are expensive, and those investing in lawyers deserve to be professionally represented. Should we decide to work together after our first meeting, we will discuss the retainer amount required to step in and begin work. That amount varies with the complexity of each case. At the time that amount is paid, we sign a “Retainer Agreement” with the new client, which operates as a contract between client and counsel. It defines the scope of our office’s responsibilities in each case and lists our commitments and requirements.
We ask the following of all potential clients prior to their consultations:
Come organized. To get the most out of our time together, we need to understand what items are at issue in your case. Please gather any documents that have already been filed with the court and any records you wish to discuss that are relevant to your situation, such as e-mails or text messages from the opposing party.
Begin writing down questions you have about your case now. Bring that list to our appointment so we can talk through it together. Covering those questions in our meeting ensures the time is valuable for you whether or not we decide to work together.
Family law litigation can be raw, emotional, and challenging work. We’re dedicated to our clients, and we’re advocates, not tools. If a client lies to me or to our court, that client is fired. As family law attorneys, we know how to navigate bad facts. Repairing broken credibility is another matter. Reputations of clients and lawyers influence their cases, and we won’t risk our reputation to argue false facts. Far better to build each case on what’s real and what we can prove.
