Some attorneys offer free consultations to new clients as a way to expand their clients base and to assess whether their firm and the client are a good fit. They are also a great way for clients to begin to understand the legal issues that apply to their matter. To get the most out of a free consultation with a NYC construction accident lawyer, or a Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Staten Island or Bronx car accident attorney, it’s important to create a list of questions and to bring all of the paperwork you have about legal matters at hand.
Expect Detailed and Useful Information
If you’re consulting with a NYC construction accident lawyer, you should expect to receive detailed and useful information about workers compensation, labor law, litigation and claim settlement. The attorney should be able to tell you whether your claim is limited to collecting workers compensation or there are additional claims against third parties, under labor law or due to an exception to workers compensation as an exclusive remedy. For car accidents, you should expect your Queens, Bronx, Staten Island, Manhattan and Brooklyn car accident attorney to discuss how the accident happened, the insurance that applies to your accident, your injuries, the doctors you’ve treated with the amount of time you’re likely to lose from work. The best Bronx car accident attorneys will give you an idea how long your case is likely to take, but will never make inflated promises about how much money you’re likely to collect.
Expect Information About Fees
There are three basic types of fees offered by attorneys: contingency fees, hourly fees and monthly fees. Most NYC construction accident attorneys and Brooklyn car accident attorneys offer their clients contingency fees, which means that clients don’t have to pay anything and the attorney’s fees are payment out of what the client collects later. This should also mean that if the Bronx car accident attorney doesn’t collect anything, the client doesn’t owe anything. Attorneys working on a contingency fee use the free consultation as an opportunity to determine whether or not the case merits their investment of time and money. If an attorney that usually works on contingency fees asks for an hourly fee because your case is risky, you’re probably better off not pursuing the case. Monthly fees are usually reserved for certain types of estate and business matters as a budget friendly alternative to hourly fees for some types of business and estate matters.
Don’t Expect Legal Action
During the free consultation no attorney/client relationship is established, so it’s not appropriate to expect the attorney to do any actual work on your case. It’s highly inappropriate to go to a free consultation and expect the attorney to pick up the phone and make a call on your behalf. That said, an attorney may offer to do some investigation to help them determine whether your case is solid, such as downloading a police report or contacting a witness. If you retain the attorney at the consultation, they can begin working on your case.
Queens, Bronx, Staten Island, Manhattan and Brooklyn Car Accident Attorney
The quality of the free consultation will depend greatly on the experience of the attorney that you meet with. In order to get the most out of your free consultation with a NYC construction accident attorney, Bronx car accident attorney, Manhattan divorce attorney or any other type of lawyer, seek out a firm that has lawyers with a great deal of experience in this area of the law.
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