In A Civil Lawsuit, What Are The First Steps That A Manhattan, NYC Business Litigation Attorney Will Take?

When you contact a Manhattan, NYC Business Litigation Attorney about bringing a civil lawsuit, he or she may speak to you over the phone for a few minutes. In this brief initial phone call, the attorney will take your contact information. The lawyer may also ask you a few questions to determine whether your case obviously lacks merit.

Further, over the phone, the Manhattan Commercial Litigation Lawyer will ask you for the names of the relevant persons or companies. The lawyer obtains these names to make sure that he has no conflict of interest in his contemplated representation of you. An example of a conflict of interest is that you want to sue a company that the attorney’s law firm currently represents.

Provided that there is no conflict of interest and that your case does not plainly lack merit, the Manhattan Business Litigation Lawyer will schedule and conduct an initial interview with you. This first interview usually takes place in person at the attorney’s office. The initial interview typically lasts about one hour.

Most commercial litigation lawyers will charge you a fee for an initial consultation, as well they should. However, the lawyer may charge you a discounted fee. That is, the attorney may charge you a fee that is less than his usual hourly rate.

In the initial interview, the Manhattan Business Litigation Lawyer will interview you about the circumstances of your case. It is unlikely that you will prepare a concise written narrative of the facts and bring it with you to the lawyer’s office. Instead, it is the attorney’s obligation to determine the relevant facts. What you think is important may or may not be.

You should hope to achieve several goals in your initial consultation with your Manhattan Commercial Litigation Attorney. First, you must convey to the attorney the basic facts of your case. Second, the lawyer should determine whether you are facing a litigation crisis, such as a demand for immediate injunctive relief or a statute of limitations that is nearing expiration.

Third, the attorney may discuss with you how the legal process will function in your case. For example, the lawyer may discuss what pleadings must be filed and how long the case may take to reach a judgment on the papers or a trial.

Finally, the attorney may discuss with you his fees and the retainer that you will be required to provide to the attorney.

The business litigation lawyer will request that you bring with you, to the initial interview, relevant documents. Bring the pertinent documents with you and show them to the lawyer. You may want to tell the lawyer what your contract says. Sometimes you are right. But sometimes you are wrong. You must bring the materials and let the attorney see them for himself.

It’s human nature for you to tell the commercial litigation lawyer the facts with the spin most favorable to you. Because the lawyer does not have all the facts, do not expect him or her to make promises about the ultimate resolution of the case. For example, the lawyer cannot promise you that you will win your lawsuit.

Either at your initial meeting or thereafter, you and/or your company may elect to retain this business litigation attorney. If you do, you and the attorney will sign a written Retainer Agreement.

In a typical commercial case, the Retainer Agreement should state that the attorney’s law firm will represent you and/or your company in the litigation that is pending, or is about to ensue, against specified entities or individuals. The Retainer Agreement will also state the attorney’s hourly rate and the retainer amount.

If your company wants to bring, or needs a lawyer to defend it in, business litigation and you are located in the Manhattan, NYC area, call Manhattan Business Litigation Lawyer David S. Rich at (347) 835-5688.

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