Before you retain counsel

Under state bar ethical rules, a law firm cannot advise or represent anyone where doing so would conflict with a current or former client involved in the same matter. A quick name check of every person and company involved is run first, which protects your confidentiality and the firm’s existing client duties before any sensitive strategy is discussed.

Where the scope is well defined – estate planning packages, LLC formation, operating agreements and standard commercial lease reviews – a flat fee is quoted in writing before work begins. Contested disputes and complex negotiations, where the other party’s conduct affects the time required, are handled from an itemised trust retainer billed in transparent increments.

Yes. The strategy consultation is $250 for sixty minutes, and when a flat-fee transactional or estate planning package is retained within 14 days, that $250 is credited towards the package total. If you decide not to go further, you still leave the hour with a clear analysis of your options and deadlines.

Yes. Name your preference in the message field of the contact form. The firm is small, so the attorney who holds the first consultation is usually the one who carries the matter, but availability is confirmed in the reply rather than assumed. If the preference cannot be met, that is said plainly and an alternative is named before anything is agreed.

No. Sending an enquiry, or speaking briefly with the team to arrange a consultation and clear conflicts, does not create an attorney-client relationship. Representation begins only once both you and Marchmont Vale Law have signed a written engagement letter.

Enquiries are read during office hours – Monday to Friday, nine to six, with Saturday by arrangement – and answered within one business day, so a message sent on Sunday has its reply by the end of Monday. The reply comes by email to the address given on the form, from the attorney who would hold the first consultation.

Yes. Strategy consultations, contract redline walkthroughs and ongoing general counsel meetings can take place in person at the Savannah office or by encrypted video conference. Only documents that need wet-ink witnessing and notarisation, such as wills and certain real estate deeds, require an in-person signing.

A short timeline of the key dates, with copies of any signed contracts, leases, demand letters, court notices, deeds or earlier wills connected with your question. Sending PDF copies once the conflict check has cleared lets your attorney read the critical clauses before the hour begins. Anything confidential is exchanged through an agreed route rather than an ordinary website message.

Most individuals and couples complete a full estate plan within three to four weeks, from the first consultation to the notarised signing. Clean drafts and plain-English summaries follow the design meeting within ten business days, the details are refined together, and the witnessed signing takes place at the office.

Most civil and commercial disputes resolve through pre-suit negotiation or formal mediation rather than a full trial. A favourable settlement is most likely when the other side sees disciplined, trial-ready preparation, which is why every contested file is prepared carefully from the outset.