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Questions to ask a lawyer
Sixteen questions for a first consultation, grouped by scope, money, time, jurisdiction and communication — each paired with what a clear answer contains, and a ruled line to write the answer on. Two consultations are far easier to compare on paper than from memory.
A first consultation is a short conversation carrying a lot of weight, and most of what people wish they had asked is procedural rather than legal: who does the work, what the fee agreement actually says, what the next three steps are, and what would make the estimate wrong. Those are answerable questions, and a clear answer to them is a meaningful signal.
Every entry is phrased as a question you ask rather than an instruction we give, and each one is paired with a short description of what a clear answer contains. That pairing is the useful half. Telling someone they will recognise a good answer when they hear it is not usable; saying that a clear answer to a deadline question is a date and the rule it comes from is.
There is a ruled line under every question because notes taken during a meeting are worth more than notes reconstructed after one. If you speak to more than one lawyer, the sheets are directly comparable — which is much harder to do from two sets of impressions.
What's inside
The complete contents, listed in full — this is not a preview.
- Scope: what this lawyer would handle, who does the day-to-day work, and their experience in your county
- Money: fee structure, the agreement you would sign, separate costs, what makes a matter cost more, and how billing works
- Time: the deadline that applies to you and where it comes from, the next three steps, and how long matters like yours usually take
- Jurisdiction: how this state handles your issue, anything unusual about your situation, and the biggest risk they see
- Communication: how to reach them, expected response time, updates between milestones, and what they need from you
- A ruled line under every question, and a closing note on why writing the answers down beats comparing impressions
Who this is for
- Anyone booking a first consultation and unsure what to ask beyond the substance of their situation
- People speaking to more than one lawyer who want the conversations to be comparable
- Anyone who has been quoted a fee structure and wants to understand what it covers before signing
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Questions to ask a lawyer
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Free, no payment and no account. Confirm the double opt-in link and the question sheet arrives by email; you are also added to Change Alerts, one message when a state revises a rule this site publishes. Unsubscribe anytime.
Official sources this resource draws on
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Educational reference material — not legal, tax, financial, or benefits advice, and not an application or a determination. The agencies linked above decide every actual outcome.