Preparing for Attorney Consultations: What to Expect and How to Make the Most of Your Meeting
[00:00:00] Jonathan Breeden: Hello and welcome to another episode of The Best of Johnston County podcast. I’m your host, Jonathan Breeden. And today, we’re going to have another special edition episode of The Best of Johnston County podcast that we call, Ask Jonathan Breeden Anything.
[00:00:13] Jonathan Breeden: Normally on this podcast, I, Jonathan Breeden, interview community leaders, business owners, people of interest in the Johnston County community about, what they love about Johnston County. And what makes Johnston County a great place to live? Every once in a while, we do these special edition episodes. Where our social media coordinator, Raena Burch asked me, Jonathan Breeden, questions about family law, which is what we do here at the Breeden Law Office, and sometimes, the general practice of law as well.
[00:00:39] Jonathan Breeden: And that’s what one of these episodes is going to be about today. And we’re going to talk about, how to prepare for and what to expect in a consultation with an attorney. But before we do that, I would like to ask or remind everybody, if they would be so kind as to like, follow or subscribe to this podcast. Wherever you’re seeing it, on LinkedIn, Spotify, Apple [00:01:00] Podcast, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, or Facebook. So that, you’ll be made aware of future episodes of The Best of Johnston County podcast.
[00:01:08] Jonathan Breeden: The Best of Johnston County podcast comes out every Monday, and we’ve now been doing this for over 8 months, and we have lots and lots of episodes, and we’ve had a lot of great guests in the past including, Patrick Harris, Johnston County Commissioner. Adrian O’Neal, Johnston County Parks and Rec Director. We have Representative Donna White on as well, from the State House. And we had County Commissioner Ted Godwin. Now, the County Commissioner Bill Stovall, when he was a candidate, talking about what he wanted to do. So, we’ve got a lot of great guests you can go back and listen to.
[00:01:37] Jonathan Breeden: And if you love Johnston County, as much as I love Johnston County, this is the podcast for you. It would also help us if you would leave us a 5-star review down at the bottom, wherever you’re seeing this podcast. It will raise our visibility so that other people will be aware of The Best Johnston County podcast. Now on with the show, as I’ve said, the sort of disclaimer, Raena. So, what do you want to ask about today?
[00:01:59] Raena Burch: All right. So, [00:02:00] we’re going to talk about consultations today, and what people can expect, obviously, that’s the first step on their possible divorce journey, and it’s looking to be a little scary. So, a lot of people have questions and don’t really know what to expect. So, we’re going to cover some of that today.
[00:02:12] Jonathan Breeden: Okay, sounds good.
[00:02:14] Raena Burch: All right. So first question is, what is a consultation? And what is the purpose of a consultation?
[00:02:18] Jonathan Breeden: You could call it a consultation, you can call it a case overview, but it is what it is. It is where somebody who believes that they have a problem, whether it’s a personal injury attorney, family law attorney. It is somebody who has identified an attorney that they believe, may be able to help them based on that attorney’s training experience.
[00:02:39] Jonathan Breeden: They’re going to come in, they’re going to meet with that attorney, or his staff, or his office, and share their story. And talk about, where they’re at, what they’re thinking, and begin to learn, what their rights are underneath, whatever type of law they’re talking about. And just start to gain some guidance on the [00:03:00] process, what they’re thinking, and what they’ve researched is correct or incorrect, based on the facts they’re given.
[00:03:05] Jonathan Breeden: And what their next steps would be if they want to move forward? And not everybody does move forward, particularly in a family law scenario. But it does give them their options. Everybody has rights, right? The laws are there to protect the rights of everybody. The laws apply equally to everybody. But if you don’t know what your rights are, it’s hard to protect them. One of the things a consultation can do, is start to give you an idea of, what your rights are. And what you can do if you choose to move forward?
[00:03:35] Jonathan Breeden: The other thing a consultation does, and probably more importantly, it allows you to start to build a relationship with the office that you’re meeting with. Because it’s very important that you feel listened to, that you are comfortable. Because particularly, if you’re going to go through a divorce, it is going to be emotionally trying, it’s going to be financially trying.
[00:03:59] Jonathan Breeden: If it’s a [00:04:00] high contest case, it’s going to cost a lot of money that most people don’t have. And you need to feel comfortable with the attorney that you choose. Probably more important than anything else, is that you feel comfortable with that person, you feel that they are listening to you, that they care about your rights as a person, that they’re being honest with you, and not just telling you what you want to hear. Because that doesn’t do anybody any good.
[00:04:27] Jonathan Breeden: And that they’re going to be an effective advocate, and that they’re going to communicate with you. And I think you can start to figure that out by just sitting down for 30 or 45 minutes and just talking to somebody. I know the first time I met you, we hit it off almost immediately, it’s the same thing like, whether you like somebody or not.
[00:04:45] Jonathan Breeden: There’s lots of lawyers that can represent you, and there’s tons of good family lawyers in Johnston County and Wake County. But you’re not going to be comfortable with all of them. And so, that is one of the things that you need to be looking for is, are you comfortable with this person?
[00:04:59] Raena Burch: Got it, [00:05:00] Okay. So, first part of that is, obviously the person identifies a problem, the consultation might offer some solutions when you go over that. And then obviously, big purpose of that is to find somebody that you are comfortable working with long term. Because it might be a couple of months, a couple of years, who knows how long. So, the next question is, how long should somebody expect a consultation to be?
[00:05:22] Jonathan Breeden: Once again, depending on the area of law, most consultations are going to run, particularly in my office, and most family law offices, between 30 minutes and an hour. You’re not going to be able to get through the entire thing and go through every scenario, and we try real hard to not get into the sort of this engineering of what if.
[00:05:44] Jonathan Breeden: Because if you don’t have time, and number 2, no matter what if statement you create. The odds that it is going to be that fact pattern, that one side has come up with in their mind with their version of [00:06:00] the facts, that’s not going to happen.
[00:06:02] Jonathan Breeden: So, even if we sat here and tried to answer all the what-if questions, it doesn’t really do anybody any good. Because there’s no way that those exact facts are ever going to line up. Because they’re coming from an interested party, not a disinterested third party. And they’re going to tell their story from their vantage point, which they should because it’s their story.
[00:06:26] Jonathan Breeden: But, that might not be the actual story that a judge hears or believes. And our goal really, is to figure out, okay, do you have a family law problem that we can help with? Are these areas of law that we help with people in? Is it in one of the counties that we serve? If the case is already ongoing, do we have time to possibly get in the case, and be prepared for a hearing that might be happening very quickly? Unfortunately for us, it’s not that uncommon for people to come [00:07:00] in, and they’ve known about a court date for 4 months, and the court date’s in 3 days.
[00:07:03] Jonathan Breeden: That puts us in an impossible position. And so, we often can’t help that person, at least with that first court date, but maybe we can help them with future court dates. We try to educate people that come in about, why we do what we do. Our story of trying to focus on helping children, and getting children out of bad situations, or allowing children to still have healthy relationships with both parents.
[00:07:27] Jonathan Breeden: Now, depending on definition of healthy based on the mental health, or the physical health of the parents varies greatly. So, we’re trying to see where people are on that, making them feel comfortable with us, the person they’re meeting with. And getting an overview of, is this somebody we can help. And if it is, we talk about, what that investment would look like, and how to move forward. And sometimes, if we feel like we’re getting a pretty good indication of what the facts are, we might be able to give the outline of a timeline.
[00:07:59] Raena Burch: [00:08:00] Okay. And so, in this 30 minutes to an hour, I know we talked about, going to be an overview of, what we’re the case and everything. When I ask, what can they expect to talk about, maybe in terms of just, your normal run of the mill, divorce case, somebody’s coming in, it’s their first consultation. What are the five main topics that they can expect to cover?
[00:08:23] Jonathan Breeden: You really start with the jurisdictional stuff like, does this person live with one of the counties that we serve? Is the case in one of these counties? It’s not that uncommon for somebody to come in here and they live in Johnston County, they live in Wake County, but the child is in Texas.
[00:08:38] Jonathan Breeden: So, the first things we’re going to try to talk about is, what the issue is, and where would the case be? Is this a case that if it needed to be filed or if it is ongoing, is it in Johnston, Harnett, Wake County, which is where we primarily practice? What is the status? Is the case ongoing? Have you been served with papers? Have you missed deadlines? Have you missed court dates? [00:09:00] Have defaults been used entered against you? And all of those things happen.
[00:09:03] Jonathan Breeden: We have to figure out, what is the case? Where is it? Is it ongoing? And 90% of the people that come in, the case is not ongoing. This is the beginning of a fact-finding mission that they’re on. And we’re just trying to figure out, what’s going on? We’re definitely going to listen to them tell their story, in their words, without trying to interrupt it, just to get out, what is going on? Identify the hell the person is going through, and see if we can project a heaven for them where they could possibly be.
[00:09:40] Jonathan Breeden: If they were to move forward, and a realistic thing as to where it could move forward? It is really hard to pick up the phone and call a divorce attorney. That’s why, we work very hard here to be empathetic. We’ve worked very hard here to be understanding. Because we understand how hard it is to make that [00:10:00] call. And then, we know how hard it is to book that consultation. And we know how hard it is, most of the people come to the office and have that meeting, is a very emotionally trying and difficult thing to do.
[00:10:13] Jonathan Breeden: And we understand that, and we try to approach these things with compassion. And I think, there’s some value in listening to people telling their story. And I can assure you, if you come here with all the cases that I’ve done and the other attorneys have done, while the story will be unique to you, and it is your life and your health, I can almost guarantee you, we have seen that story before.
[00:10:37] Jonathan Breeden: We have helped people with that same story, facing that same hell, and we’ve gotten people to heaven, and we can probably help you get to a heaven as well. That would be a better life, often few free of abuse, free of verbal abuse, physical abuse, free of alcoholism, all of those types of things, we can help with that. But we can’t help you [00:11:00] if you don’t come to see us, if you don’t come to talk to us where we can find out, ’cause we can’t help everybody, Raena. But we want to help the people that we can help. But we can’t figure out if we can help you if you don’t come meet with us.
[00:11:12] Raena Burch: And that’s very true, and I can attest that this man makes sure that everybody in his office is empathetic and an active listener and whatnot. Because we all had to take personality tests, and we all came back with flying colors, I can say that. Okay. So, next question would be, should somebody do more than one consultation? Should they shop around for their divorce lawyer?
[00:11:33] Jonathan Breeden: That’s up to the individual. If the first person you meet with, you feel comfortable with, you’re comfortable with them, you’re comfortable with the investment that you’re going to have to make in them. Like, you feel like that they can provide the services that you need, then maybe not. But if the first person you meet with, you’re not comfortable with, or you’re not comfortable with the investment that is going to take to hire that person, or you didn’t feel like you were listened to, you want more to talk [00:12:00] to. Then, yeah, I would encourage people to talk to more than one attorney.
[00:12:04] Jonathan Breeden: Some people do and some people don’t. And different attorneys are going to have different opinions on whatever fact pattern you give them. Most of the time, it’s going to be fairly close, because the law is the law. But I would never discourage somebody from talking, doing more than one consult. If they have the time and the resources, I think it’s good. Because they need to find somebody who’s comfortable. And I think, one mistake people make is, they come in and they meet with an attorney and they’re not comfortable, they’re not comfortable with the person, they’re not comfortable with the investment, the amount of money it’s going to take, but they hire anyway.
[00:12:36] Jonathan Breeden: And then, that starts the relationship off on a bad foot. Even though the attorney hasn’t done anything wrong, they are who they are, the investment is the investment. And so, that can make for a more difficult relationship.
[00:12:51] Raena Burch: Okay, yeah, absolutely, of course. So, if somebody does multiple consultations, how does that affect the [00:13:00] opposing party? Does that create a conflict of interest if that opposing party then also tries to come to a consultation?
[00:13:06] Jonathan Breeden: Correct. Once a law firm has done a consultation with one of the people in the lawsuit, a divorce, or anything, they then are conflicted out from doing a consultation or offering representation to the other side in that case.
[00:13:22] Jonathan Breeden: And so, people do go around and do multiple consultations to conflict out law firms. It happens here, as we have become, arguably, the most successful affirm in Johnston County. Even if people may decide that they can’t do the investment that we’re asking. They will still hear it, come here, and do a consult to keep the Breeden Law Office out of their case.
[00:13:44] Raena Burch: I wouldn’t argue, it’s smart move. Because you guys are very good at what you do.
[00:13:48] Jonathan Breeden: That’s true, but our greatest compliment is when we represent one side in one divorce. And then, the opposing side comes to hire us for their next divorce.
[00:13:59] Raena Burch: Okay.
[00:13:59] Jonathan Breeden: [00:14:00] Where we can do that because we’re not against our client anymore. We’re against the new wife, that’s how you know you’re doing something right. When somebody you’ve been against, the first opportunity they get comes and hires you to represent them. That’s how you do it, you’re doing something right.
[00:14:16] Raena Burch: You did a good job the first time.
[00:14:17] Jonathan Breeden: You did a good job the first time. Because they were like, if I’m in this spot again, I’m going to go higher. But it does create a conflict. And so, we’re unable to consult with the other side.
[00:14:27] Jonathan Breeden: Now, if you call and you schedule an appointment, and you don’t appear for the appointment, that does not create a conflict. You have to actually come in, pay for the consultation, have the consultation to create a conflict. We do have at least once a month, Raena, somebody will call, they will schedule their consultation.
[00:14:46] Jonathan Breeden: They will cancel it before they come in, and then the other side will call us, and they will pay for the consultation, and they will come in. I don’t have a conflict if you don’t come in and talk to me. I’m not gaining information to book a consult. I just need to know, [00:15:00] does it look like your case is in our area? Is it a family law case? That kind of stuff. So, we do have that happen every once in a while. I find that interesting, but we’re very ethical here, we try to follow all the rules.
[00:15:10] Raena Burch: Very last question, how much would you say a consultation can cost, should cost, that they’re looking at?
[00:15:17] Jonathan Breeden: It depends on what kind of lawyer you’re looking for, right? If you’re going to see a personal injury attorney, or social security disability attorney, or an attorney that is working on a contingency fee, where they get a percentage of what they win for you? The consultation is almost always going to be free.
[00:15:33] Jonathan Breeden: If you’re going to see a family law attorney, or real estate attorney, or a business attorney, where you’re going to have to pay them to represent you, either a flat fee or an hourly basis. Most of them are going to charge some consultation fee for their time and figure out if they can help.
[00:15:52] Jonathan Breeden: Some attorneys do consults $350, $500, $700, $800, $1,000. It really depends [00:16:00] on who you call, and what they choose to charge for their consultations. I would say, the vast majority of consultations are somewhere between $200 and $400 for most law firms. Now, some law firms just charge their hourly rate. So, if you’re doing corporate law or business law, or some lawyers in Raleigh that do family law, they’re going to be charging $500, $550 an hour, they may just charge that.
[00:16:26] Jonathan Breeden: It really is up to the individual attorney. Now some attorneys, if you go see a personal injury firm, you’re not going to talk to an attorney. You’re going to talk to an intake specialist, or a paralegal, or somebody like that, who’s trained to screen the calls. At some family law firms, you will see an intake specialist who’s like a paralegal, or somebody trained to figure out if the firm can help you or not. One of the questions you want to ask is, and if you’re not seeing an attorney, it either should be free or should be substantially less?
[00:16:54] Raena Burch: Yeah.
[00:16:55] Jonathan Breeden: Like maybe $100, he’s going to meet with a staff member. And some firms offer [00:17:00] either one, if you want to talk to an attorney, it’s $400 or $450. And if you want to talk to an intake specialist who can get an outline of what’s going on, and tell you where it’s at, it’s $100. Every firm out there is different.
[00:17:12] Raena Burch: That’s a great thing to know for them to look out for sure. And to ask that question when they call to schedule that consultation, if there’s a cheaper option, if they’re going to be speaking to an attorney when they go to their consultation. I know, I didn’t know to ask those questions, when I had first started like my divorce journey. It’s a great way giving them that cost estimate is, people need to be able to plan.
[00:17:33] Jonathan Breeden: They do, they need to be able to plan. And particularly, contested divorces can be very expensive. It’s nothing for contested divorce, where there’s custody and property and all that stuff. It can easily be $10,000, $15,000, $20,000, $25,000 or more. The more you can get along, and we’ve said this on past episodes, Raena, the more you get along, the more you can get something settled. The quicker you’re going to move to your heaven, and the better off you’re just going to [00:18:00] be in general, and you’re going to save a substantial amount of money in attorney’s fees.
[00:18:03] Jonathan Breeden: Cause the more work the attorneys do, the more they’re going to have to charge you to do it. Trying to be realistic about the outcomes, listening to your attorney, believe if your attorney is saying, this is a reasonable outcome, this is something that we should try to get to. And we get there, we should settle it, versus just staying in the fight, to stay in the fight because you’re mad. You know what I’m saying?
[00:18:25] Jonathan Breeden: That’s just a way to spend a lot of money to end up in the same spot, as far as that’s concerned. As you’re coming into your consultations, especially, if you’re doing family law, have a pretty good idea of, what your assets are. You need to have a pretty good idea, you have a house, what do you own in the house? What’s the house worth? What do you own in the cars? What’s the cars worth? What is your budget? You need a budget.
[00:18:43] Jonathan Breeden: Live in the house you’re in. You need to have a budget for where you might go, a realistic budget. If you don’t have a budget, go make a budget. If you don’t know how to make a budget. Go look at your last 3 or 4 months’ credit card bills and bank statements, and see what are you spending money on. Download a financial affidavit off of [00:19:00] NCCourts.org, and it’ll give you all the categories to fill in.
[00:19:02] Jonathan Breeden: So, the more you know about, what do you owe in the credit card debt bills? What is your gross income? What is your net income? What is your spouse’s gross income? What is your spouse’s net income? What is your health insurance cost? The more information you have about, your assets and your bills, the better information you’re going to get in the console and moving forward. And it’ll be easier for the attorney to be able to figure out whether you’re a good fit for them and their firm at the size of cases you have.
[00:19:31] Jonathan Breeden: Some firms can’t do multimillion-dollar estates. They’re not set up, they don’t have the staff, they don’t have the knowledge, that kind of stuff. So, you need to have some ideas, so that the firm knows whether you fit it to their criteria of what they do. We can help anybody with really any size of state, any size marital estate. But that’s about most firms. A lot of firms have to stay with less than a million dollars because they don’t have the staffing and all the stuff and the amount of work that comes in when you start getting [00:20:00] into those higher asset cases.
[00:20:02] Jonathan Breeden: So, that becomes important as well. I’m a proponent of reading the Google reviews, all law firms now have Google reviews. We have hundreds of Google reviews of the Breeden Law Office out there across our 4 locations. Go read those and you’ll see a theme. I read my friends at Google reviews, I leave Google reviews for businesses. But usually, if you’ll read, 5 to 10 reviews, you will begin to see a theme as to what is good and maybe what could be better about different law firms. And I think that’s important as well.
[00:20:32] Jonathan Breeden: There’s no reason today, to not be an educated consumer, given the information that’s out there. Particularly, if you’re going to do business with somebody like the Breeden Law Office, that has a podcast, that has over 150 YouTube videos, that has a website with over 200 pages on it, that has hundreds of Google reviews, that’s written a book that we’ll give you for free. Just call or you can download it off the website, or we’ll mail it to you. Divorce in North Carolina: What You Need to Know. This firm [00:21:00] and the way I do it is a completely open book as to how things are done.
[00:21:04] Jonathan Breeden: And you can find out just about everything you want to know about me, and how I do things with just my own mind presence. Which is probably greater than most other attorneys, but still all attorneys have some online presence and you should go in and investigate those.
[00:21:19] Raena Burch: Yeah. And like my mom always said, learn from other people’s experiences and mistakes. Because you’re not going to live long enough to make them all yourself. So, read those reviews, especially if they’re great reviews, take that and run with it. If there’s things that people can possibly work on, maybe look out for that if that starts happening in your case and whatnot. I’m a big proponent of reading reviews for literally everything, whether it’s a product or a service.
[00:21:43] Jonathan Breeden: And that’s the gig economy we’re in, I guess people read the reviews.
[00:21:47] Raena Burch: All right, and I think that’s it.
[00:21:49] Jonathan Breeden: All right, cool. Anyway, we’d like to thank you for listening to this episode of The Best of Johnston County podcast. Special edition, Ask Jonathan Breeden Anything, where we talked about, how to prepare for and what to [00:22:00] expect in a consultation with a law office.
[00:22:02] Jonathan Breeden: If you have any questions or concerns about any familial issues you may have, feel free to reach out to us at 919-661-4970, or at our website at BreedenFirm.com. We’d be glad to set up a consultation with you to see if we can help you with your family law needs. As we said earlier if this is your first time listening to The Best Johnston County podcast?
[00:22:20] Jonathan Breeden: We would ask you to like, follow, or subscribe to this podcast, wherever you’re viewing it right now. Since you’ll be aware of future episodes of The Best Johnston County podcast. Until next time, I’m your host, Jonathan Breeden.
Welcome to another special edition of The Best of Johnston County Podcast, an episode in our series known as “Ask Jonathan Breeden Anything.” In this insightful episode, we dive deep into a topic that many find daunting—attorney consultations. Raena Burch, the social media coordinator at Breeden Law Office, joins to ask detailed questions about the consultation process, particularly useful for those embarking on a divorce journey.
What is a Consultation?
A consultation, also known as a case overview, is a meeting where someone with a legal issue speaks with an attorney to discuss their situation. It’s the first step in identifying whether the attorney can help and understanding your legal rights, and Raena asks some very pertinent questions to clarify this.
What to Expect During a Consultation
In the episode, we cover several key aspects of what to expect during a consultation:
- Purpose: A consultation helps you understand your legal rights, options, and the next steps if you decide to move forward.
- Duration: Consultations usually last between 30 minutes and an hour, depending on the complexity of the case.
- Topics Covered: The discussion will focus on your story, the jurisdiction, your legal issues, and your goals. This gives you the opportunity to start building a relationship with the attorney’s office and determine if it’s the right fit for you.
Building a Relationship with Your Attorney
A significant part of a consultation is the initial relationship-building. This episode emphasizes the importance of feeling comfortable with your attorney. We discuss how essential it is to feel listened to and understood, especially during emotionally and financially stressful times such as divorce.
Costs of Consultations
We also delve into the costs involved with attorney consultations and what you can expect to pay. While some law firms offer free consultations, particularly for personal injury or social security disability cases, others, like family law offices, often charge a fee that can vary widely.
Why Multiple Consultations Might Be Necessary
Should you consult with more than one attorney? The answer is yes, especially if you’re not comfortable with the first attorney you meet. Different attorneys offer different perspectives, and it’s crucial to find one that suits your needs, both professionally and personally.
Potential Conflicts of Interest
Raena brings up an interesting point about conflicts of interest. Once an attorney has consulted with one party in a case, they generally cannot consult with the opposing party. We explore the implications of this and why it might be a strategic move for some clients.
Preparing for Your Consultation
Preparation is key. We advise gathering all relevant information about your assets and liabilities before your consultation. Knowing details about your property, income, and budget will make your meeting more productive and help the attorney assess your situation more accurately.
Conclusion
This episode is a must-listen for anyone facing legal challenges or considering consulting with an attorney. Packed with valuable information and practical advice, it aims to demystify the consultation process.Ready to make an informed decision about legal consultations? Tune in now to this episode of The Best of Johnston County Podcast. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts, and start your journey to finding the right legal support today.
AND MORE TOPICS COVERED IN THE FULL INTERVIEW!!! You can check that out and subscribe to YouTube.
If you want to know more about Commissioner Chairman Butch Lawter, you may reach out to him at:
Connect with Jonathan Breeden:
- Website: https://www.breedenfirm.com/
- Phone Number: Call (919) 726-0578
- Podcast: https://breedenlawpodcast.com/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BestofJoCoPodcast
Listen On