After completing the preliminary mandatory steps required by the Law Society of Ontario, the following can typically be expected from a consultation with a lawyer:
- Document Submission: To enhance the effectiveness of the consultation, we request that you submit all relevant documents (i.e., any formal supporting documents (e.g. contracts, claims), etc, expert reports, correspondence between the parties involved, letters from other lawyers/Counsel, and etc) in advance. This allows the lawyer to familiarize themselves with any official and formal documents relevant to your case.
- Summary of Facts: We strongly suggest that all clients provide a summary of their side of the story for the initial comprehensive consultation. This should outline all relevant factual information deemed critical, including all involved parties, dates of events, and other pertinent details, preferably disclosed in chronological order.
- Focused Discussion: This preparation allows your lawyer to delve deeper into the matter during your meeting, avoiding the need to spend time gathering basic information. This way, the lawyer can start offering tailored solutions, advice, and strategies to resolve your issues during the meeting.
- Volume of Materials: It is important to be upfront with the lawyer if you plan to submit a large volume of legal materials. No lawyer can realistically review thousands of pages (e.g., 3,000-4,000 pages) if you are already in the midst of litigation proceedings. For such comprehensive reviews, we provide a different type of retainer (i.e., limited scope retainers) where we do review all available materials in-depth first and then engage in detailed discussions address all major issues.