When people are sick and go to the doctor, they want to feel better. They want the doctor to DO something. Sometimes, the doctor may tell you that the best thing do is to rest and drink fluids, for example. Sometimes, that really is what is best. Medicine or surgery is not advisable. So it is when meeting with an attorney. When people seek a consultation with an attorney, they have a problem, concern, or more often – a
grievance. A product/service that attorneys provide is advice. They charge for it, and it has value.

In your consultation with an attorney, you may be asked questions that seem not related to the matter at hand. Often those questions do relate to the matter at hand, but they may not consistent with the course of action the potential client imagined.

In a consultation, you may hear an opinion that you don’t have a case that is worth your pursuit. You may hear that you have a case, and it is more complicated, time consuming, and expensive than you thought. An attorney may discuss different options to address your circumstance. It always makes good sense to consider what consequences there would be – to doing nothing at all. You may even hear that the attorney does not care to represent you in a matter. The attorney may refer you to a different attorney, or just suggest that you find one.

You may ask the attorney to pursue a course of action which is against the advice they have given you. In the right circumstances, the attorney may be willing to do it. You
should consider whether it is best for you to hire an attorney whose advice you do not trust enough to take. Use the consultation to ask questions, provide information, and receive information. If you do not want to pay an attorney for a consultation, it might also be worth considering what the case is worth to you. Do you really want to spend money
on the problem? Do you really have to?

You will find more value and success in your legal representation when you are comfortable that there is a shared objective and agreed strategy.