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Top 10 Tips For Your Initial Consultation with a Personal Injury Lawyer

Published on December 23, 2022 by Hanaan Indari

This article was written by Dilan Kasturi.

Your initial consultation with a personal injury lawyer is important because it is the first time your lawyer gets to understand your case and your goals. Understandably, it can be an unnerving experience, especially when you have suffered an injury and are going through a difficult time in your life.

Here are 10 practical tips to help you feel prepared and make the most out of your initial consultation:

1. Be early. Make sure you arrive early to our office for your consultation if it is a face-to-face appointment, or you are on a virtual link 5 minutes early if it is via a video conferencing platform. Time is valuable and lawyers often run on a tight schedule, so you want to make sure you don’t waste any. Please don’t be late, first impressions matter!
2. Know the facts of your case. Know the essential elements of your case so that we can get a good understanding of how your injury occurred, what treatment you have undergone, your current circumstances and what you want to achieve with our assistance.
3. Bring relevant documents. You most likely have a mountain of paperwork related to your case. Lawyers actually like paperwork and want to look at all of your documents, As we mentioned earlier, time is of the essence during your initial consultation so it is helpful if you can provide us documents with the information we need to understand your case (don’t worry we can make copies). The more paperwork the better!
4. Write down the questions you have for us. There is a lot to talk about during your initial consultation and you probably have a lot of questions you want to ask us. It might seem like time flies by, so to make sure you don’t leave feeling like you missed something, write down the main questions you want answered.
5. Take notes. You will likely be getting a lot of information thrown your way during the initial consultation. It always helps to write things down, so you don’t forget.
6. Have a support person with you. Recounting the circumstances of your injury and the effects it has had on your life can be an emotional experience. Having someone you know there with you can be useful in giving you emotional support and keeping you on track.
7. Be honest. The information you provide us during the initial consultation formulates the basis of our understanding of your case. It is important that you are truthful with us so that we can give you meaningful and relevant advice. Remember, anything you say to us will remain confidential.
8. Provide us with your best contact information. We will provide you with ours. Your best phone number and email address will work just fine. Communication is key during your case.
9. Know what you want. We will listen to you before providing you advice on your options and any potential recourse under the law. If you know what you want out of your case, we can be better prepared and tailor our advice to achieve your goals.
10. Try and relax. We are there to listen and provide you with advice. We are here to help you get through a difficult time.