What to Bring to Your First Meeting With a Solicitor

Bring a current form of photo identification, such as a driver's licence or passport. Australian solicitors are required to verify their clients' identities for anti-money-laundering and trust account purposes. Have your full legal name, date of birth, residential address and preferred contact details ready.

Write a short, factual summary of what has happened and what you would like to achieve. A page is usually enough. Include the names of the people involved, the key dates and the outcome you are hoping for. This summary helps the solicitor grasp the matter quickly and identify the legal issues that need to be addressed.

Bring originals or copies of every document that may be relevant: contracts, letters, emails, text messages, invoices, photographs, court papers and any correspondence with the other party. If you are not sure whether something is relevant, bring it anyway. The solicitor will decide what matters.

A simple timeline of what happened, in date order, is one of the most useful things you can prepare. It is especially helpful in disputes, where the sequence of events often determines who is in the right.

Write down the questions you want answered. They might include what the law says about your situation, what your options are, what the matter is likely to cost, how long it will take and what the realistic outcomes look like. Working from a list ensures nothing important is missed.

Be ready to discuss how you will pay. Ask the solicitor about their fees, the form of their costs agreement and whether they offer fixed fees, payment plans or fee estimates. If you have insurance that may cover legal costs, bring the policy.

Finally, come prepared to listen. Good legal advice sometimes confirms what you hoped, and sometimes it does not. Either way, the value of the meeting lies in understanding your real position so you can make informed decisions about what to do next.