How to Prepare for Your Free Consultation With Westmoreland Law

During the consultation, we will offer our general thoughts, feedback and opinions, but we will not give specific legal advice or start working on your claim. That will only occur once an attorney-client relationship is established by signing a representation agreement or fee contract.

The length of the consultation will depend on the complexity of the legal matter being discussed. For cases that are more straightforward, the first meeting may not take too long. In more complex cases, the initial interview will usually last longer. No case, however, is simple or straightforward.

Before consulting with an attorney, you should make sure that you properly prepare by gathering any and all documents that are relevant to your case. It’s important to bring every document you have for the attorney to review. It’s better to be on the safe side by bringing more documents than necessary. We can determine which documents are relevant and which are not. The more information we have, the better we can evaluate your case.

In addition, we recommend writing down all of your questions on paper or your phone. Consultations cannot last forever, so it’s best for both you and the attorney to have your questions already prepared so that nothing is forgotten or overlooked. Make sure you bring up anything that you have been wondering or worried about.

If you have a personal injury or workers’ compensation claim, a majority of the consultation will consist of giving your account of what happened during your accident, injury, or illness. We want to hear your side of the story.

During or after this description, the attorney will ask you detailed questions to obtain additional information and to gain a greater understanding of what happened. It’s best for everybody if the attorney has all the facts.

Most of our cases are handled on a contingency fee basis, which means we don’t collect a fee for our time spent representing you unless we secure a settlement or award. This allows people who otherwise might not be able to afford a lawyer to obtain skilled legal representation. It also gives the attorney incentive to work as hard as possible to get you the maximum compensation possible.

However, in some cases, the client is responsible for all necessary costs and expenses incurred when their claim is being handled by a law firm, whether or not there is a recovery. Certain cases cannot be handled on a contingency fee basis. In those instances, we will discuss how much it’s going to cost for us to pursue the legal matter on your behalf.

Examples of cases we do handle on a contingency fee basis include:

• Social Security disability (short-term and long-term)
• Personal injury (car and truck accidents, slip and falls, defective product, nursing home abuse, wrongful death, etc.)
• Workers’ compensation

An initial consultation does NOT form an attorney-client relationship, as that isn’t formed until there is a signed representation agreement. That said, everything that you communicate with an attorney during the initial consultation will remain privileged and confidential, as if an attorney-client privilege had formed. Thus, you should always be honest and provide the attorney with all of the information you have, whether helpful or harmful, so that they may properly evaluate your case.