First Lawyer Consultation: Preparation Checklist

Confirm the appointment details

Check the date, time zone, meeting format, expected length and price. Ask whether the appointment is an intake conversation or includes advice or document review. The same word—consultation—can describe different services, so confirm what this appointment includes.

The Florida Bar advises clients not to assume an initial meeting is free and to ask about costs. Source: The Florida Bar.

Organize a small, useful packet

The Florida Bar recommends organizing relevant documents, making correspondence readable, preparing a timeline and asking whether the lawyer wants materials in advance. Source: The Florida Bar.

Use this suggested cover sheet to make your packet easier to navigate:

• One-sentence description of the issue: ____________________
• What I hope to achieve: ____________________
• Important dates shown on documents: ____________________
• People or organizations involved: ____________________
• Documents included, with filenames or page numbers: ____________________
• Information I do not have yet: ____________________

Ask the office for its document-sharing instructions. Do not put identity documents, sign-in credentials or confidential case files into this website’s support form. The directory’s support team is separate from the lawyer you are contacting.

Prepare questions you can use

Arizona’s consumer resources suggest asking how a case would be handled, who else would work on it and how updates would be provided. Source: State Bar of Arizona.

Use those themes to make a short agenda:

1. What information do you need before you can decide whether to take this matter?
2. Which parts of my requested work would you handle?
3. Who would be my day-to-day contact?
4. What payment would be needed to begin, and what expenses would be separate?
5. What would you need from me after today?
6. What is the next agreed action, and who is responsible for it?

Put your top three questions first. Leave space beside each answer for anything that needs clarification. You do not need to complete a detailed legal argument before speaking with the office.

Before-you-go checklist

Print this page or save it as a PDF using the button above. The blanks are for private notes; this page does not collect or save your answers.

• Appointment time, location or meeting link confirmed: ______
• Consultation charge and scope confirmed: ______
• Office’s document instructions received: ______
• Short timeline prepared: ______
• Requested materials organized: ______
• Important dates highlighted: ______
• Questions ordered by importance: ______
• Language or accessibility needs discussed with the office: ______

Finish with a written next-step note

A useful personal note is: “Following today’s discussion, I understand the next step is ___, to be handled by ___, by ___.” Ask the office to clarify any uncertainty rather than assuming a consultation means the lawyer has accepted the entire matter.

Record any proposed scope and fees separately from your impressions of the meeting. If you are still comparing options, use the lawyer-comparison guide.

About this guide

Prepared with AI assistance by TheLawyerWorld using the sources linked above. Source research: September 16, 2026. Not yet reviewed by a lawyer. This is general preparation information, not legal advice or a document list tailored to a particular case. Ask the lawyer what your matter requires. Editorial standards · Suggest a correction.