You've never hired a lawyer. Here is exactly how it works.

Tell me the bad facts. The other side will find them, so I price them into the strategy on day one. A lawyer surprised at trial by their own client's facts has already lost. The bad facts are protected by privilege the same as the good ones.

Bring your documents. The lease or contract, the notices, the ledger, the photos, the text messages. I review them before I quote you anything, because the documents usually decide the case.

We confirm we are free to fight for you. A law firm is barred from taking a case against a current or former client's interests. By accepting you, we become precluded from ever representing the opposing party against you. The check protects you both ways.

Read what you are buying. The agreement defines the scope: the case we are handling, and the things that live outside it, like appeals and post-judgment work, so nothing is assumed. It also attaches the Statement of Client's Rights and discloses how the firm uses technology, including AI, on your file.

Know your exit. You have the absolute right to cancel the agreement at any time. You pay for work already done at the rates in the agreement, and the remaining balance is returned as your agreement provides. Flat-fee matters follow the written minimum-fee schedule in your engagement letter.

Track A, landlords: we audit your ordinance compliance and verify or deliver the required notices, because the notice is the foundation the whole eviction stands on. The first-eviction walkthrough shows this track in detail.

Track B, litigation: we assemble your facts and check them against public records and other sources of truth. Court rules require accuracy in what we file, and you certify the facts to us in writing before anything goes to a judge. Cases are won in this step and lost by skipping it.

The complaint tells your story to the court. Filing fees and court costs pass through to you at cost; they are listed in your agreement, and we ask before spending anything unusual.

Nothing happens until the other side is served. We track service closely; a defendant who dodges the sheriff gets a process server, and a case with no service is a case standing still.

Plaintiff or defendant, the calendar rules. We set out the schedule, appear at case management, and if we are defending you, we answer or attack the Complaint before the deadline runs.

Mediation gets a real look. Every week of litigation costs money and attention. When a mediated deal returns your property, your money, or your peace sooner, I will tell you so plainly.

Interrogatories, then depositions. Written questions under oath map the other side's story; depositions lock witnesses into it. We prepare you for both, and you will always know why we are asking for what we ask.

This is where preparation pays. Summary judgment turns clean facts and clean paper into a final ruling. The document discipline from Steps 1 and 4 is exactly what wins here.

You will be ready before you walk in. Exhibits organized, testimony prepared, and no surprises, because we surfaced the bad facts on day one and dealt with them on our terms instead of theirs.