Many attorneys in the Greenville area and throughout South Carolina advertise to potential clients that they offer a free initial consultation to new clients. This includes the Greenville personal injury law firm of David R. Price, Jr., P.A. Although the price of these consultations is attractive to many clients (who doesn’t like something that is free?), individuals are often perplexed as to what they can expect to happen during a free consultation and how to make the most of their time with the attorney.
What You Can Expect to Happen
Each law firm is different and there are no rules or guidelines that dictate how a consultation must “look.” Therefore, it is impossible to describe what you can expect at a free consultation with every single law firm. But at a minimum, most free consultations involve:
- A face-to-face meeting with the attorney: While the attorney may not meet with you the entire time, you should have an opportunity to meet with the attorney face-to-face. This is important because it affords you a chance to see if the attorney is an individual you trust to handle your personal injury case and if your personality and the attorney’s personality will work well together.
- Discussing your most pressing legal question or concern: In most cases you cannot enter a free consultation with a list of legal questions about a variety of topics. The attorney may ask you instead to share the one or two most pressing legal questions on your mind. The remainder of the time allotted for discussion will involve answering these concerns and any follow-up questions you may have.
- Discussing how the law firm may be able to help with your question or concern: This is the “sales pitch.” It is rare that your legal question or issue will be fully resolved just by meeting with an attorney for a consultation. There will likely be follow-up tasks that must be completed and/or a lawsuit filed. The attorney will discuss with you the services his or her firm can offer and how these services relate to your legal needs.
- Asking you to hire the law firm: Finally, the attorney or his or her designee will go over with you the fee structure for the firm and how the firm would get paid if you decide to retain the firm. If you do decide to hire the attorney you have just met with, other conditions regarding the retainer agreement will be discussed.
How to Get the Most Out of Your Consultation
To derive the greatest benefit from your consultation, you should:
- Arrive early to your consultation;
- Bring with you pictures, statements, and/or a brief written description of the question or concern you have;
- Bring all other documents that you may have which may pertain to your case.  Some documents may be important even if you don’t realize it.  Let your attorney decide which documents are important and which are not. Â
- Do not bring multiple witnesses to tell the attorney what happened – they will simply take away time that can be spent discussing your case with the attorney at this point; and
- Go into the consultation ready to evaluate the attorney him- or herself to see if he or she might make a good fit for your legal needs. Do not pay attention only to the awards or education of the attorney (although these are important) – determine if the attorney is a person with whom you feel you can work.
Contact Our Office for Help
Greenville personal injury attorney David R. Price, Jr. of David R. Price, Jr., P.A. offers free consultations to potential clients who have questions about their legal rights and remedies after an injury. Contact his office by calling (864) 271-2636 or contact the office online to schedule your free initial consultation.
David Price is a Personal Injury, Civil Litigation, Collections, and Criminal Defense Attorney who practices in Greenville, SC. He graduated from the University of Georgia School of Law, and has been practicing law for 12 years. David Price believes in helping those who have been injured. Learn more about his experience by clicking here.
