Your First Business Law Consultation: What to Bring and What Happens

Before the meeting: the conflicts check

Expect to be asked for the names of everyone on the other side of your matter: the customer, the general contractor, the partner, the company suing you. A lawyer can't advise you against someone the firm already represents in a conflicting way, so the firm checks its records before it hears the details. Georgia Rule of Professional Conduct 1.7 governs those conflicts.

Give full names, including business names and any trade names, so the check is accurate.

What you share is protected

Under Georgia Rule 1.18, someone who consults a lawyer about possibly hiring them is a "prospective client." Even if you never hire the firm, the lawyer "shall not use or reveal that information" except in the narrow ways the rules allow. That protects the conversation. It doesn't mean the firm is working on your matter until you both agree to an engagement.

What to bring for every matter

• A one-page timeline: what happened, when, and who was involved.
• Your company's exact legal name, as registered with the Georgia Secretary of State, and your role in it.
• The names of the other people and companies involved.
• Any deadline you know about: a response date in a letter, a lien or notice date, a court date.
• What you want to happen: get paid, get out of a contract, keep a customer, settle, or simply understand your options.

A contract to sign, review, or enforce

• The full contract, including every exhibit, schedule, and attachment it mentions, not just the signature page.
• Any proposal, estimate, purchase order, or terms-and-conditions page that came with it.
• Emails or texts where terms were negotiated or changed, and any signed change orders.
• If it's not signed yet: the deadline to sign and the terms you're most worried about.
• For construction work, bring the prime contract if you have it, since a subcontract often incorporates it. Our page on contract drafting and review explains what we look for.

A customer or contractor who won't pay

• The invoices and account statement, with the dates each was sent.
• The signed contract or credit terms, including any interest or attorney's fee clause.
• Change orders, delivery tickets, and proof the work was done or the goods were delivered.
• On a construction job: the property address, the owner's name, the dates you first and last furnished labor or materials, and any notices or lien waivers you've signed or received. Georgia lien deadlines are short; see the Georgia Construction Payment Guide.
• Any written reason the customer gave for not paying.
• Our guide to invoices, late fees, and interest explains what Georgia allows you to charge on a past-due account.

Forming, fixing, or changing a company

• Your articles of organization or incorporation, and any amendments.
• The operating agreement or bylaws, if there is one, and any buy-sell agreement.
• Who owns what percentage, who contributed what, and who manages the company day to day.
• Licenses and permits the business holds or needs.
• Loans or leases you've personally guaranteed.
• If your LLC has no written operating agreement, Georgia's default rules fill the gaps, and they may not match what the owners intended. See Georgia LLC operating agreements.

Your business has been sued

• Every page you were served: the summons, the complaint, and any attachments.
• The date you were served, and who received the papers.
• Your insurance policies, especially general liability, and any letter from your insurer.
• The contract, emails, and records the lawsuit is about.
• Don't wait on this one. In Georgia, a defendant generally has 30 days after service to file an answer (O.C.G.A. § 9-11-12(a)), and missing it can lead to a default. Our guide to what to do when your business is sued explains the first steps, including notifying your insurer.

An employee or contractor issue

• The offer letter, any employment or contractor agreement, and any non-compete or confidentiality agreement.
• Your employee handbook or written policies.
• Pay records and time records for the person involved.
• Write-ups, performance notes, and any complaint the person made.
• If you're planning a termination, talk to a lawyer before you act, not after. See paying employees in Georgia for the wage rules that most often come up.

What happens in the meeting

Expect the lawyer to ask you to walk through the timeline, look at the key documents, and ask what outcome you want. A good first meeting covers the realistic options (including doing nothing, if that's reasonable), any deadline that limits those options, and roughly what each path would involve.

It should also cover money. Georgia Rule 1.5(b) says the scope of the representation and the basis or rate of the fee and expenses must be communicated to you, preferably in writing. Our guide to what a business lawyer costs explains hourly, flat-fee, and monthly arrangements.

What you should leave knowing

• Whether you need a lawyer for this at all, or can handle it yourself with some guidance.
• The options, and the main risk of each.
• Any deadline, and what has to happen before it.
• What the lawyer would do first if you hire the firm.
• How the work would be billed, and what the engagement letter will say.

After the meeting

If you decide to go ahead, you'll receive an engagement letter that sets out the scope, the fees, and who will do the work. Read it before you sign, and ask about anything that isn't clear. Our list of questions to ask before hiring a business lawyer is a useful check.

What to bring, by type of matter

Frequently Asked Questions