What is the difference between the case evaluation and the initial consultation?
You may submit a form to our attorney for a case evaluation. The case evaluation and the initial consultation differ. Refer to our Initial Consultation page to find out what happens in an initial consultation, which occurs, in office, with an attorney. Our initial consultation fee is $275 with Regina Edwards, and $250 with our other attorneys. The free case evaluation occurs when a new prospective client emails us from the website, or calls the office. These are often referred to as “cold calls.” The attorney or paralegal screens the call for several factors. After we evaluate the case, we will either email or call you to inform you whether your case is the type that we could handle. This ensures that, if we set an appointment for you for an initial consultation, that you have been pre-screened, and your chances of the case being accepted by our firm are much higher. If we determine that we are unable to assist you, we may be able to refer you to agencies or other attorneys who can, or to websites that can assist you should you wish to file pro se.
1. Location of Case
Edwards & Associates does not practice in every county in Georgia. We limit our practice to 7 main counties: Fulton, Dekalb, Gwinnett, Clayton, Cobb, Rockdale and Forsyth. Other counties, such as Cherokee, Henry, Fayette, and Douglas are evaluated on a case-by-case basis. This is not due to inexperience in these counties, it is due to the incurred travel time you will have to pay your attorney to get to court. If you are willing to pay for the extra time to travel to your court, and we feel your case is meritorious, we may take your case.
2. Economics of the Case
This not only refers to the ability of the client to pay our fees, but also refers to whether or not it is economically feasible to hire an attorney. For example, most child support cases cost between $3000 - $7000 in attorney fees. If you are paying $400 a month in child support, and you wish to reduce your child support to $200, it is not worth paying us several thousand dollars, as your net result would be eaten away by attorneys' fees. In these cases, we would refer you to a website that helps litigants who would be better off filing “pro se” or without an attorney. Refer to our county help page to see if your county offers free forms.
3. Our Caseload
Because of our excellent reputation, we receive many requests for our services. As such, we are selective in the cases that we choose to undertake. We keep our caseload relatively low, so we can dedicate as much time as possible to the cases we do take. If we cannot take your case, do not be offended. We simply may have too many cases to devote the time and attention to your case. If this occurs, we would be happy to refer you to other qualified attorneys who may have more time to dedicate to your case.
4. Subject Matter
We do not handle every type of family law case. We are very good at the fields in which we specialize, and there is no reason for us to practice in areas in which we do not have as much expertise. The Practice Areas page explains our practice areas. For example, we do not draft pre-nuptial agreements, handle parental termination cases, represent parents whose children have been taken away by DFCS, or parents who wish to surrender their parental rights. There are many qualified attorneys who specialize in those areas of law, and we would be happy to refer those cases to those attorneys.
