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Not legal advice — but here’s how to prepare.
A solicitor’s first hour is usually spent working out what you have. These checklists list every document, date and figure they’ll ask for, in the order they’ll ask, with a one-page summary template — so the first meeting is about your prospects, not your paperwork.
Preparing a contract dispute: what to gather before you speak to a solicitor
Everything a dispute resolution solicitor will ask for in the first meeting, organised so you can assemble it in an afternoon. The better prepared you are, the less of their time — and your money — the early stages consume.
- 1. The agreement
- 2. Performance: what was actually done
- 3. Money
- 4. Communications and chronology
- 5. The other side
- 6. Your objectives and constraints
- 7. One-page summary for your first meeting
Preparing a professional negligence claim: what to gather before you speak to a solicitor
A claim against a surveyor, conveyancer, solicitor, architect or accountant turns on three things — what they were engaged to do, what they did, and what it cost you. This checklist organises the evidence for each, in the order a solicitor will ask for it.
- 1. Your relationship with the professional
- 2. What the professional produced
- 3. What went wrong, and when you found out
- 4. Your loss
- 5. What you have done since
- 6. The professional's identity and insurer
- 7. One-page summary for your first meeting