Most Quebec residents and business owners feel uncomfortable when it is time to meet their lawyer for the first time.
- How should I prepare?
- What documents should I bring?
- How much will the process cost?
- What are my chances of success?
These are the questions most of our clients ask at their first meeting at our offices.
Here are 10 tips to help you arrive better prepared for your first meeting with one of our lawyers.
1 – DO YOU HAVE LEGAL INSURANCE?
To improve their access to justice, some people have taken out legal insurance.
This type of insurance can cover your first meeting with your lawyer and certain steps involved in representation before the courts.
Sometimes, home or liability insurance includes coverage for legal fees.
Before your first meeting, we therefore invite you to contact your insurer or review your insurance policy.
2 – IS YOUR LAWYER A MEMBER OF THE BARREAU DU QUÉBEC?
In Quebec, all lawyers who want to practise law must be entered on the Roll of the Order of the Barreau du Québec.
If you hire someone who is not on the Roll, you could receive bad advice. In addition, many professional acts could be invalid.
The lawyers at Verreau Dufresne are members in good standing of the Barreau du Québec and have never been sanctioned by their professional order’s Disciplinary Council.
To find out whether a lawyer is a member in good standing of the Barreau du Québec, you can contact the Barreau du Québec at 1-844-954-3411.
3 – DEFINE YOUR EXPECTATIONS
Everyone has expectations for their first meeting with their lawyer. These may be expectations about :
- The cost of fees
- The lawyer’s personality and the relationship of trust
- The quality of the law firm
- The lawyer’s areas of practice
It is important to think about your expectations and, if needed, discuss them with your lawyer at the first meeting.
At Verreau Dufresne Avocats, the lawyer-client relationship is based on trust. At your first meeting with our professionals, complete transparency is the rule when it comes to discussing your expectations.
4 – REVIEW ALL THE EVENTS
To make the most of your first meeting with your lawyer, it is crucial to carefully review the details of the various events, starting from when the conflict began.
The purpose of the first meeting is to inform the lawyer of the facts of the case. Your lawyer will then use these facts to make a legal diagnosis of your situation.
To do this, the lawyer will ask you many questions. Who are the people involved? Who did what? When, and why?
When a client arrives at our offices well prepared, the meeting goes faster, which keeps costs down.
Do not hesitate to disclose all the events in your case, even those that do not work in your favour; your lawyer is there to help you. Your lawyer is bound by professional secrecy, even at the first meeting. If you fail to disclose any relevant fact (whether favourable or unfavourable), your lawyer may have to change their legal diagnosis along the way, which will result in additional fees.
5 – REVIEW ALL YOUR DOCUMENTS
To make the most of your first meeting with your lawyer, it is also very important to carefully review the documents relevant to your case.
- Identify any documents that have even the slightest connection to the case.
- Review the content of these documents.
- Organize the documents so you can give them to your lawyer.
- Give the original documents to your lawyer and keep a copy for your records.
If you notice that some relevant documents are not in your possession, it is best to gather them before the meeting. Also, if you are unsure whether a document is useful for your case, give it to your lawyer anyway so they can assess its relevance.
As mentioned above, the purpose of the first meeting is to inform the lawyer of the relevant facts of the case. The lawyer will make a legal diagnosis of your situation based on your version of the facts and the documents you provide.
To do this, the lawyer will ask you many questions about the content of the documents and the context in which they were created.
When a client comes in with all the documents related to the case, organized in a logical order, the cost of the first meeting and of the case analysis is significantly reduced. Feel free to use binders, folders, dividers, sticky notes or colour codes to do this.
Do not be reluctant to give documents to your lawyer; they are there to help you and are bound by professional secrecy, even at the first meeting. If you fail to disclose any relevant document (whether favourable or unfavourable), your lawyer may have to change their legal diagnosis along the way, which will result in additional fees.
6 – PREPARE A TIMELINE OF EVENTS
As mentioned above, the first meeting with your lawyer is meant to present the facts of your case. The lawyer will then carefully analyze the events and documents. They can then give you a legal diagnosis and assess your chances of success. A single fact can change their legal diagnosis.
Example : You see a doctor. You tell the doctor you have a headache, a cough and a sore throat. The doctor will probably diagnose a cold. However, if the doctor looks further into the facts and finds that you have a fever, they will probably diagnose the flu. The treatment prescribed will not be exactly the same.
Before your first visit to Verreau Dufresne Avocats, we recommend that you prepare a timeline of the events in your case. If you are willing to put in the time required, this tip can significantly reduce costs, especially when the facts are numerous and complex.
You can prepare this timeline as a table with the following information :
|
Date |
Event |
Document or evidence |
|
August 1, 2016 |
Start of excavation work on the building’s drain | Contract with PetitDrain, page 2 |
| August 2, 2016 | Crack discovered in the foundation |
Photographs of the cracks Testimony of PetitDrain |
7 – MAKE A LIST OF CONTACTS AND WITNESSES
It is very helpful for your lawyer to have, from the first meeting, a list of everyone involved in your case. These may be witnesses or people who are directly or indirectly involved in the conflict you are facing.
Your lawyer will contact these people only with your permission. This list will help your lawyer understand, from the start of the mandate, the role of each person involved, in order to better assess the strengths and weaknesses of your case. It will also save you from having to look up these people’s contact information later on.
You can prepare this list as a table with the following information :
|
First and last name |
Address, phone and email |
Role |
Involvement |
| Denis Lavoie | 5800, rue du Lac, Québec, QC G1G 2V2999-999-999[email protected] |
Opposing party | Person to whom I want to send a formal notice (demand letter). |
| Simon Arbert | 96, avenue du Parc, Montmagny, QC G5V 1J7888-888-888[email protected] |
Witness |
He saw the errors made by Denis Lavoie on May 8, 2016. |
| Dr. Pierre Carini | Clinique de santé de Lévis
9999, boulevard Isis, Lévis, QC G6R 5B1 777-777-7777 |
My doctor |
The doctor who has followed my medical condition since 2007. |
8 – PREPARE A LIST OF QUESTIONS
Clients who consult us for the first time are usually under stress and looking for reassurance. The first meeting gives you a chance to get answers to your questions.
- What should I do?
- Do I have a chance of success?
- How should I respond?
- Can the case be settled quickly?
- How much will it cost?
If you follow the tips we suggest, you will come up with many questions along the way. We recommend that you prepare a list of questions and send it to one of our lawyers before the date of the first meeting. If possible, your lawyer can then prepare the meeting to steer the discussion toward the answers you are looking for.
9 – ASSESS YOUR CONTRIBUTION
Some clients want to hand the entire case over to the lawyer as a “ turnkey ” mandate. Other clients want to be actively involved in their case to keep their lawyer’s fees down.
If you intend to work with us throughout your case, we recommend that you identify the steps you would like to take care of yourself.
When you visit Verreau Dufresne Avocats, you will then be able to discuss work planning and the division of tasks efficiently with the lawyer.
10 – SET A BUDGET
When you first call our offices, you will normally be informed of your lawyer’s professional fees. At your first meeting, you will have the opportunity to confirm the mandate and the cost of services in a document called the “ Fee Agreement ”.
Before your first meeting with one of our lawyers, we invite you to think about your financial situation and the budget you want to set aside for the case.
The lawyer can then take your budget constraints into account when dividing tasks between you or when setting the strategy and timeline for your case.
Note: The information above is general in nature and does not constitute legal advice. For advice on your particular legal situation, feel free to contact one of our lawyers in Québec City or Lévis.
