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Initial Consultations

An initial consultation won't get your legal problem resolved, but what you learn during your meeting will help you understand exactly what you're facing. In addition, simply meeting you places certain obligations on the attorney, such as informing you when your statute of limitations, or the period of time you can sue or be sued, ends. In addition, you can find out whether you have the type of case that the attorney will take on a contingency fee basis, meaning you will pay the attorney once you recover damages from the opposing party. Be aware, however, that not all attorneys take contingent fee cases, or, if they do, only under very limited situations.

What's the best way to find an attorney who will give you a free consultation? There are two ways. The easiest, but least effective, is to use the phone book and call around. Some attorneys will state in their yellow pages add whether they give free initial consultations. A better method is to contact the local bar association (a "bar" association is a trade group of attorneys. The "bar" refers to the banister separating the judge, jury, and lawyers from the gallery or audience, not the local corner pub). All states have a statewide bar association and most large towns and cities will have a local bar association. The state bar associations maintain lists of attorneys who have signed up for referrals for specific types of legal disputes. You should call the bar association and indicate you want a referral. Explain your dispute and have them give you the names and numbers of two or three attorneys in your area. When you call the attorney, make sure you mention that you got their name from the bar association. This gives you a little better chance of getting an appointment and, possibly, a free initial consultation.

Other tips:

1) Court personnel can be your best friends or your worst enemies, it's your choice. The judge's staff and the staff in the clerk or courts office have lots of valuable information (sometimes better even than the attorneys) and wield lots of power. Get them on your side by being nice and you have a powerful ally. Make them mad and, at some point, you will regret it. Simple things like being courteous and having patience will serve you well, probably in behind-the-scenes ways you will never realize.

2) Make it personal. In some civil disputes, like a landlord tenant problem, you should not be afraid to try and communicate with your adversary. An attorney can't talk directly

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