Many of our clients have never dealt with family law or other legal issues. Understandably, they can be confused and lost when they first contact us. Here are the steps we generally follow from the moment you call and until the end of your legal representation:

Step 1: Initial Phone Call or Email

Our lovely receptionist will:

• Greet you and ask what your matter is about.
• Ask whether you have a specific lawyer in mind to talk to, if not, she will let you know which lawyers are available to take on your case.
• Advise you of the Law Society Rules which require us to first to a Conflict of Interest Check before having you speak with a lawyer.
• Advise you of the initial consultation fees.
• Book a consultation on a date and time that is mutually agreeable.
• Will follow up confirming your appointment via email.
• Will ask that if you need to cancel, you need to provide us with at least 24 hour’s notice.
• Will provide you with a letter that lays out how the initial consultation will proceed.

Step 2: Your Initial Consultation

For your initial consultation:

• You can choose to meet in person, via phone or a Zoom call;
• You will be greeted by our receptionist and asked whether you would like coffee, tea, water or snacks!
• You will sit in our beautiful waiting area until the lawyer comes out to greet you.
• You and the lawyer will sit in his/her office.
• The lawyer will inform you that all communication is confidential and what he/she can help you with.
• The lawyer will first listen to everything you have to say, will ask for clarification questions and then will provide you with legal advice.
• The lawyer will generally provide you with a roadmap of the steps ahead, your chances of success with your case and the options you have.
• The lawyer will advise you of how much we need as retainer and whether you would like to retain us.
• If you decide to retain the lawyer’s services, our office will provide you with a retainer agreement which you will need to sign before representation will begin.

Step 3: Your Representation

Depending on the type of case you have, these are the general events that may or may not occur on your file:

• The lawyer will do an in-depth review of your file, the documents you have, etc;
• The lawyer will write to you and confirm the steps ahead, and ask for your agreement to same;
• The lawyer generally will start communicating with the other side via a letter or a phone call. He or she will relay your position to the other side and ask for their response.
• If your case is already in litigation, the lawyer may start preparing litigation papers to protect you, or suggest mediation, negotiation or other ways of resolving your file;
• You and your lawyer will continue to communicate, consult with one another and move your file ahead.
• Every steps taken on your file will be confirmed with you. Most times every letter that goes out will first be confirmed with you.
• The lawyer will continue to advise you regarding your best course of action as your file proceeds.

Step 4: Conclusion of Your File

• Most cases end either through mutual settlement or consent, or by going to trial.
• Once your case is settled either through mediation, negotiation or trial, your lawyer will generally ask whether you would like to close your file with us.
• If the answer is yes, we close your file, return you all the documents you have given us and refund any remaining retainer you have with us.
• We keep important documents on your file for at least 10 years.
• We hug goodbye!

Please note: in some situations, you may wish to switch lawyers, not have lawyers represent you or self-represent. If that is the case, you will inform us of your decision and we will close your file and return your file contents/retainer as long as you do not have any outstanding accounts with us.

We hope the above provides some clarify on the ever confusing legal world we live in.

To contact our award winning lawyers, please call us at 604-974-9529 or get in touch.