What information do I need to have before I go to see a lawyer

It’s coming up. You have put off preparing for this for weeks. I don’t know what they will need. Depending on your personality and where you are at in your business going to see a lawyer can be a challenging meeting to prepare for.

Understanding the legal aspects of your business is crucial for your success. All too often we see business owners spend thousands, tens of thousands and even hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to solve a legal problem in their business. Sure some of those problems are unavoidable but whether you are going to see a lawyer to prevent a problem or if you are reacting to something that has happened there is a lot you can do to prepare to see a lawyer.

What questions should I ask when I book the meeting?

When you go to a lawyer they will generally ask you a lot of questions about your situation. Before you go to the lawyer you should spend time seeking to understand what it is that they will be asking you so that you can properly prepare for that meeting. Part of that is educating yourself on different legal aspects of your business, what they mean and how they might apply to you.

Next, you should ask your lawyer if they have any documentation or questionnaires that they would like you to complete. Often a lawyer will have a questionnaire asking some basic information about you that would help them before a meeting. Also ask if you should bring any documentation. This is especially true if you are in a dispute with someone, your lawyer will need to see all of the documentation that you have in support of your case.

Importantly you should ask if there is a fee for the meeting. Some lawyers charge a fee to meet with them, others simply do a free hour that is designed to sell you into more work. You need to decide what you need but asking up front what the costs will be will save any awkward conversations at the end. HINT: if it better if they charge you a fee upfront, there is no such thing as a free meeting so if you are prepared to pay something that will usually mean that you get something tangible rather than an attempt to sell you into another service.

How can I educate myself before I see my lawyer?

When you go to see a lawyer you need to be aware of some of the terms and areas that you may cover in that meeting. There are lots of great tools that you can use to educate yourself on what other lawyers see as important for your legal matter. Importantly though you don’t want to tell your lawyer that you know what need to be done and that you just want them to confirm that position. You need to spend time understanding what it is that you will need to then have a discussion with your lawyer about those maters in an intelligible manner.

At Business Legal Lifecycle we know that dealing with a lawyer can be difficult, it can seem daunting and costly. That is why we have designed our Legal Risk Assessment Tool and Education Course to help you to understand the law without a law degree. It is often difficult to understand the costs that you will save by taking a proactive approach (by its very nature a proactive approach saves you money that you would otherwise spend) but trust us that the savings are huge.

By working together with the Business Legal Lifecycle lawyers can help their clients to prevent legal risks within their business and prevent so many problems that commonly afflict small to medium sized businesses.

Get your Business Legal Lifecycle Legal Risk Assessment by clicking here now.
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