Start here
Most people arrive at a lawyer's website already frightened and already short of time. This page is written to be useful before you decide whether to call anyone, including this firm. Nothing on it asks for your details.
I have been arrested or charged
- What happens next
- You will be given a date to appear in the court named on your paperwork. Between now and then, the case is being prepared by the prosecution whether or not you have a lawyer.
- What to bring
- Every piece of paper you were given, including the appearance ticket, the accusatory instrument, any bail paperwork, and the property receipt if anything was taken from you.
- What not to do
- Do not discuss the facts with anyone other than a lawyer, including on the telephone from a correctional facility, on social media, or in a message. Do not contact a complaining witness.
- The one thing to do now
- Call the office and say the date on your paperwork. That date sets everything else.
The police want to speak with me, but I have not been charged
- What happens next
- Nothing is required of you before you have spoken to a lawyer. An interview is not a formality and it is not off the record.
- What to bring
- Any card, letter, voicemail, or message you were left, and the name of the officer or agency.
- What not to do
- Do not agree to a time, do not answer questions to be helpful, and do not consent to a search in the belief that refusing looks bad. You are allowed to say that your lawyer will call.
- The one thing to do now
- Call the office before you call them back.
I am not sure what my situation is called
- What happens next
- That is ordinary, and it is not something you need to work out before you call. Describing what happened in plain words is enough.
- What to bring
- Whatever paperwork exists, and the dates things happened.
- What not to do
- Do not wait for it to become clearer on its own. Most of the deadlines that hurt people are ones they did not know were running.
- The one thing to do now
- Call the office and describe it the way you would to a neighbor.
Questions people actually ask
What does a first conversation cost?
call to discuss
Will I speak to the attorney, or to an assistant?
You speak to the attorney. That is the point of a small practice, and it is the thing large firms find hardest to promise.
How long will my matter take?
Honestly, nobody can tell you at the first call, and anyone who does is guessing. What the firm can tell you at the first call is what the next stage is and roughly how long that stage usually runs in this county.
Do you handle matters outside Jefferson County?
Ask. The answer depends on the court and the matter, and it is a straight yes or no rather than a maybe.
Is what I tell you private if I do not hire the firm?
A consultation is treated as confidential. What is not protected is anything you send through a website form or an email before there is a written agreement, which is why this site asks you to keep written contact general and call for the rest.
What if I already have a lawyer and I am unhappy?
You are entitled to ask another attorney for a view. Bring the paperwork and be clear about any deadline that is running.
When you are ready
There is no wrong way to make the first call. Say what happened in plain words and bring whatever paperwork you have.
Request a consultation