A consultation at ME Law is a paid meeting with a civil litigation lawyer, typically lasting 60 to 90 minutes, designed to give you a clear and candid initial assessment of your legal position before you commit to any further engagement. Where relevant documents are provided in advance, the lawyer reviews them before the meeting so the consultation can focus on analysis, strategy, and your questions rather than basic fact-gathering.
Unlike a brief screening or intake call, a consultation is intended to be a substantive first legal assessment. The lawyer will discuss the facts of your dispute, identify the principal legal and procedural issues, and explain the options that may be available based on the information available at that stage.
If you want to understand how the meeting itself is structured, see What happens during a consultation?.
Depending on the nature and stage of the matter, the consultation may include an initial assessment of the relative strengths and weaknesses of your position, the evidence that is likely to matter, the procedural steps that could follow, and whether litigation, negotiation, mediation, or another form of dispute resolution may be appropriate.
Where the matter allows, the lawyer may also provide a preliminary high-level indication of the likely scope and cost of further legal work and discuss how the opposing party or opposing counsel may approach the dispute. In some matters, counsel may be able to identify relevant legal principles or authorities immediately; in others, additional factual investigation, document review, or legal research may be required before a firm opinion can responsibly be given.
A consultation with ME Law will typically cover:
- the facts and documents you have provided;
- an initial assessment of your legal position;
- the principal risks and issues requiring attention;
- the evidence that may be important to your claim or defence;
- the likely procedural path if the dispute proceeds;
- possible negotiation, mediation, arbitration, or litigation strategies;
- immediate deadlines or circumstances requiring urgent action;
- the appropriate scope of any further engagement with ME Law.
For an Ontario civil proceeding, that procedural discussion may include steps such as a Statement of Claim or Statement of Defence, documentary production, Examinations for Discovery, mediation, motions, a pre-trial conference, and potentially trial before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
A consultation is still an initial assessment. It is not a substitute for a complete review of a substantial litigation record, and it should not be treated as a guarantee of outcome or a final legal opinion on issues that require additional facts, documents, expert evidence, or research.
If your matter already involves hundreds or thousands of pages of pleadings, affidavits, productions, transcripts, correspondence, or expert reports, a single consultation may not provide enough time for responsible analysis. In that situation, ME Law may recommend a defined limited-scope retainer for a more detailed review before providing a fuller strategic opinion.
The same applies where the matter is technically complex or still developing. The purpose of the consultation is to distinguish between what can responsibly be assessed now and what requires further work — rather than speculate beyond what the available facts and evidence support.
A consultation also gives you the opportunity to meet the lawyer who may ultimately handle your matter, ask direct questions about the proposed strategy and engagement, and decide whether ME Law is the right fit for the dispute.
The consultation does not automatically mean that ME Law has been retained to conduct the entire proceeding. If you and the firm decide to proceed, the scope of the engagement is confirmed separately and may involve either a defined limited-scope retainer or broader ongoing representation, depending on the matter.
To make the meeting as useful as possible, see Do I need to prepare anything before an initial consultation?. If you are still deciding whether now is the right time to seek advice, see When should you consider booking a consultation?.
You can also review ME Law’s Civil Litigation practice for more information about the types of disputes the firm handles.
Contact ME Law to request a consultation.