What to bring to an attorney at the first litigation consultation
Arrive prepared for your litigation consultation. Bring a timeline, contracts, evidence of harm, and bank records so your attorney can assess your case properly.
Walking into a litigation attorney's office unprepared wastes time and money — and signals to the lawyer that you may not be serious. That first consultation sets the tone for the entire case, and what you bring determines whether the attorney can actually advise you or just nod and bill you for another meeting.
Your job is to arrive with enough detail that the attorney can grasp the conflict quickly, spot the obvious gaps in your story, and tell you honestly whether you have a case worth pursuing. You are not expected to be a legal expert; you are expected to have organised your own account of what happened.
The narrative and timeline
Bring a handwritten or typed summary — ideally one to two pages — of the dispute in chronological order. Start with when the relationship began (you hired them, you signed a contract, you became neighbours) and walk through every material event: the agreement you relied on, the first sign of trouble, what you said or did about it, what the other party said or did, and when the breakdown became final.
Include dates. If you cannot remember the exact date, write "mid-January 2023" or "about six weeks after the invoice". Vagueness is unhelpful; guessing is worse. The attorney will ask follow-up questions, but a solid timeline means you are not inventing details under pressure.
Mention any written communication that hints at the other party's state of mind — an email, a text, a letter, a WhatsApp message — but do not bring originals to a first meeting unless they are very brief. Instead, note where they are and offer to share them digitally after the consultation. Long chains of messages are easier to review on a screen anyway.
Do not editorialize. Stick to "they said X and I replied Y". The attorney will judge credibility; your job is accuracy.
Documents and evidence
Bring originals or clear copies of any contract, lease, service agreement, invoice, or court document already issued in the matter. If you have been served with papers, bring those — do not leave them behind because you hope they are not important. Bring bank statements, payment records, photographs, repair quotes, or inspection reports if they support your version of events.
If you have already exchanged letters with the other party's attorney or informal complaints, bring those too. The attorney needs to know what has been said in writing and what admissions or denials have been made.
If this is a dispute over money, bring a simple spreadsheet or handwritten calculation showing what you believe you are owed, how you arrived at that figure, and what you have already recovered or been paid. Do not guess. If you do not know, say so.
Keep these documents in a folder, ideally in date order. Do not overwhelm the attorney with twenty years of email. Curate ruthlessly: the documents that matter are those that show the agreement, the breach, the harm, and any earlier attempt to resolve it.
What not to bring
Do not arrive with an emotional statement or a list of the other party's character flaws. Do not bring newspaper clippings, social media screenshots, or hearsay from friends. Do not bring a demand letter you have drafted yourself or notes about what you plan to claim. The attorney will shape the legal theory; your job is to supply facts.
Do not bring expectations about outcome. Litigation is unpredictable. A first consultation is not a promise.
The questions to prepare for
Anticipate that the attorney will ask you to walk them through the timeline live, and ask whether you have spoken to anyone else in the other party's camp or disclosed your case publicly. They will ask whether you have already paid anyone else to look at this matter, and whether you have a rough sense of what resolution would satisfy you — not necessarily a rand figure, but whether you want your money back, the contract cancelled, an apology, or something else.
Bring that clarity. You do not need a lawyer's knowledge; you need your own facts and a genuinely open mind about whether litigation makes sense. When you find a qualified litigation attorney on Strove, you will be ready to make that first meeting count.
Common questions
- Do I need to bring originals of everything or are copies okay?
- Copies are fine for a first consultation, especially documents like contracts or invoices. Bring originals only if they are very short or if the attorney specifically asks. For documents already issued by the court, bring what you have. The attorney will tell you what they need in certified or original form later if the case proceeds.
- What if I don't have all the documents the other party has?
- That is normal. Bring what you have and be honest about what you are missing. The attorney will advise on whether those gaps are fatal to your case or whether discovery (the legal process of requesting documents) will fill them once litigation starts.
- Should I prepare a written statement of my version of events?
- A simple chronological summary (one to two pages) is helpful. Avoid editorializing or legal language; just state what happened, when, and what you said or did in response. The attorney will ask questions and probe your account live — that conversation matters more than a polished statement.
- Will the attorney tell me in the first meeting whether I will win?
- No. A first consultation is about assessing whether you have a viable claim and what it might cost. Litigation outcomes depend on facts, law, and sometimes unpredictable judgment. A lawyer who guarantees a win is not being honest.
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