Most people who seek legal advice do so in response to a serious problem for which they need immediate help. Seeing an attorney often happens during the most stress-filled time in a person's life.

To avoid wasted time and added stress, arrive prepared for a productive consultation. Preparation helps you to make a clear presentation of your situation; to focus on the issues and questions that are important to you; and to help the attorney provide specific, useful advice. Here are some suggestions:

• Be sure that the attorney with whom you're meeting is experienced with legal matters such as yours.
• In advance of the meeting, make written notes on the specific facts related to your problem. Identify all parties who may be involved. Lay out the facts in an organized fashion, in the order in which they occurred. Don't omit anything; a good attorney will know which facts are relevant and which aren't.
• Make a list of questions for which you want answers, and arrange them so that you can refer to them quickly.

An initial consultation is a time to exchange information and to determine whether the attorney with whom you're meeting is right for you. It does not necessarily become the basis for long-term representation. If, after your consultation, you wish to hire that attorney, tell him so. You do not want to leave his office assuming he will be doing work for you, while he leaves the consultation with just the opposite impression, i.e., that there is nothing further to be done.

If you organize your thoughts, are open and concise in explaining your situation, and clearly tell the attorney what you want him to do for you, you will have taken a positive first step toward achieving a productive working relationship with your attorney and resolving your legal problem.

Information that you can bring to the meeting

The attorney will also be interested in all information that you can remember about the event or arrest including any documents that you may have in your possession. These are a few areas that the attorney will need to review:

• Your Arrest Record. If you have been arrested, the police made a written report of your. The attorney will need a copy of that report to review the date, time, and place of your arrest and information about the circumstances of your arrest and the offense. If you were given a copy of any part of the report bring it to the meeting.
• Your Criminal Record. The attorney will want to the details of any previous arrests and convictions including what type of offense and the punishment, including any community supervision, probation or deferred adjudication sentences. If you have any documents bring them to the meeting.
• Your Medical Records. Your medical history and records may be relevant in some criminal cases or on a particular issue in a case. Medical history and records that indicate a chronic health condition, prescription drugs, a mental health condition or any other records that might have impacted or may have impaired your abilities to think or act appropriately may be relevant.
• Other Documentary Evidence. People do not often think about having to prove where they were or if something happened. As a former prosecutor I often advised witnesses that should write things on a calendar or keep items so that they could recall when things happened since the trial usually occurred years after the incident. For example, if you received an email or phone message from the investigating officer or the victim you should make a note on your calendar and keep that information for your attorney. Receipts from the date of the offense could be useful in some cases.
• Witnesses To The Offense. If there are witnesses to the offense, you should provide the attorney with a list of their names and addresses or provide any information you know about the person and how they are connected to the crime. The police do not always contact every witness to the crime.
• Your Alibi - I Wasn't There. If you claim you were somewhere else at the time of the alleged crime, the attorney will need the name and contact information of anyone who can confirm that fact. Receipts from the date of the offense could be useful in some cases. Any evidence you can supply to support or reject your alibi will be crucial for the attorney to review.