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When a potential client
calls us, our staff (after checking for any conflicts) will set up an initial
consultation with one of our attorneys. Sometimes this consultation
is simply for the purpose of gathering information, e.g., what will happen
if my spouse and I separate and divorce?; sometimes the purpose is more
specific, e.g., the potential client has been served with a divorce complaint
and wants to initiate a custody case, etc. The initial consultation usually
lasts between one and two hours.
We charge a flat fee of
$300 for a consultation with one of our partners and $250 for a consultation
with one of our associates. This fee is payable at the conclusion of the
consultation.
In all cases, if you have
had any prior court proceedings relevant to the issue you are now consulting
us about, please bring copies of all court filings and orders. Other
than that, what you should bring depends on the type of case you have.
If you are consulting us
regarding a divorce or domestic partnership dissolution, we will want to
create a list of your and your partner’s income, assets and liabilities;
this will help us to give you more specific information about possible
outcomes of your case. For some people, this will involve gathering
many documents; others may have this information committed to memory or
on a spreadsheet. Current pay information as well as your most recent
tax return is helpful. We will also ask you about real estate, savings
and investment accounts, retirement accounts and pensions, vehicles, life
insurance and personal property, as well as any indebtedness you have,
e.g., mortgages, car loans, credit card debt, student loans, personal loans,
etc. If you do not know some of this information, that is not a reason
to delay scheduling a consultation; it simply means that the information
we give you will be more general and less tailored to your individual financial
situation.
| If you are consulting
us about child support issues, we need income information about you and
the other parent of your child(ren), information about the cost of medical
insurance for the child(ren) and any unreimbursed medical expenses, day
care expenses, private school tuition and any other extraordinary expenses.
If you are consulting us
about domestic violence issues, please bring copies of police reports,
medical records, and anything else you think corroborates the abuse.
For other types of cases,
simply use your judgment about any documents you think might be helpful
to us. |
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No. The initial consultation
is a onetime meeting. If, during or after the consultation, you decide
you want to retain Berner & Klaw to represent you, the attorney with
whom you are meeting will discuss payment of advance fees (sometimes called
a “retainer”) and will send you a written fee agreement which spells out
in detail our billing practices and policies. You must sign the fee agreement
(please call first, if you have any questions) and send it back with the
agreed upon advance fee to retain us. In the event you are not ready to
actually hire an attorney or if you decide to hire a different firm, we
still maintain a file for you as a potential client so that if you come
back to us in the future, we have all the information discussed at your
initial consultation.
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