Client guide · Family Law
Your first meeting with a lawyer: what to bring, what it costs
The first meeting with a lawyer is not the moment your problem gets solved. It is where a stranger's situation becomes a plan: what the issue really is, what the options are, what it will cost, and what happens next. Knowing what it is for makes it far more useful.
G.1 What the first meeting is actually for
A first meeting is diagnosis, not treatment. The lawyer's job in that hour is to understand your situation, tell you where the law stands, and lay out the realistic paths and what each one involves. You should leave knowing more than you did, even if you decide not to hire anyone.
It is also a two-way interview. You are deciding whether you trust this person with something that matters, and a good lawyer expects that and answers plainly rather than performing certainty.
G.2 What to bring
Bring the documents that define your situation, whatever they are: a contract, a separation timeline, a severance letter, a will, the correspondence that started the problem. Even a rough one-page summary of events with dates helps more than an hour of talking.
Bring your questions written down, including the awkward ones about cost and timeline. And bring the outcome you actually want, because the honest gap between what you want and what the law offers is the most useful thing to discuss early.
G.3 What it costs
Many firms, including ours, offer a short first call at no charge to tell you whether you even need a lawyer. That call is about fit and direction, not detailed advice. Our first ten minutes are free, and no clock starts on a matter until you have a fee in writing.
Beyond that, cost depends on the matter. Flat-fee work is quoted as one number; hourly work comes with an estimate of the hours and what would change them. You can read our published rates on the fee schedule before you ever book.
G.4 How to leave with a plan, not confusion
The measure of a good first meeting is what you can repeat afterward. If you cannot explain, in your own words, what the issue is and what the next step is, the meeting has not done its job, and you are entitled to ask for it plainer.
Before you leave, get three things clear: what happens next, who does it, and roughly what it costs. Everything else can follow, but those three turn anxiety into a sequence you can actually act on.
G.5 Questions people actually ask
- What should I bring to a first meeting with a lawyer?
- Bring the documents at the centre of your situation and a short written timeline with dates. Bring your questions on paper, including the ones about cost, and a plain statement of the outcome you are hoping for. You do not need to organize it perfectly. A rough summary the lawyer can read in two minutes is worth more than trying to recall everything out loud.
- Will the first meeting cost me anything?
- Often not for the first short conversation. Many firms offer a brief no-charge call to tell you whether you need a lawyer at all, and ours does: the first ten minutes are free and no fee starts until you have a number in writing. A longer, substantive meeting may be billed, but you should know that before you book it, never after.
G.6 Related reading
- Separation and divorce in BC: the difference, in plain English
- Severance in BC: what reasonable notice actually means
Family LawThe practice page this guide supports.
This guide is general information about BC, not legal advice about your situation. For that, the consultation is ten minutes and free.
Begin with a conversation
Ten minutes on the phone, no charge, and an honest answer about whether you need a lawyer at all.