The Free Avery & Avery Consultation — What to Expect

The first consultation with Avery & Avery, Esqs. is free. It is also a substantive lawyer-to-prospective-client conversation, not a sales pitch. The page below sets out exactly what to expect — how to prepare, what we will cover, how long it will take, and what happens next.

How to Reach Us

There are three paths in:

1. Call (201) 943-2445. During business hours, Robert or John picks up directly. After hours, leave a voicemail — we return calls promptly the next morning, and for arrests we make same-evening callbacks where the timing requires it.
2. Submit the intake form below. We respond same business day.
3. Visit our Ridgefield office at 559 Bergen Boulevard, 2nd Floor, by appointment.

Don’t wait. The earliest substantive conversation is often the most strategically valuable one — particularly for time-sensitive matters like DWI defense (where the 20-day notice deadlines and ignition-interlock schedule run quickly), domestic violence (where TRO and FRO timelines are statutory), and personal injury (where the two-year statute of limitations under N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2 is unforgiving).

What to Bring (or Have Handy)

For the first consultation, please have ready:

• The complaint, summons, citation, or charging instrument — the actual paper or PDF, not a paraphrase
• Any discovery already received — police reports, Alcotest printouts, body-cam timestamps, witness statements
• For personal injury matters: the accident report, hospital intake records, and your auto insurance declarations page (PIP selection and verbal-threshold election matter at intake)
• For family matters: the most recent court order, any CIS (Case Information Statement) already filed, and a basic list of marital assets
• For estate matters: the decedent’s will (if any), the death certificate, and a basic list of estate assets

If you don’t have any of the above, that is fine — call anyway. The consultation is exploratory. The above just makes the first conversation faster and the advice more concrete.

What We Will Cover

In the consultation we will:

• Read your matter end to end. No skim, no summary; we read the actual paper.
• Identify governing statutes and rules. The DWI under N.J.S.A. 39:4-50; the eviction defense under N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1; the slip-and-fall under premises liability common law; the Family Part filing under the Domestic Violence Act, N.J.S.A. 2C:25-17 et seq.; the will contest under Title 3B.
• Walk through likely exposure. Penalty ranges, license-loss math, damages exposure, custody factor analysis, surcharge schedule.
• Surface the constitutional or evidentiary questions. The probable cause for the stop, the standardness of the field-sobriety test, the 20-minute observation rule before Alcotest, the Marquez / Spell refusal Standard Statement.
• Tell you whether your matter is one we should take. If we are not the right firm — wrong county, wrong specialty depth, conflict — we will tell you and refer you to a colleague who is. Robert’s fifty-year network is one of the firm’s most useful referral assets.
• Quote a fee structure for the engagement, in writing, before any retainer is signed.

How Long the Consultation Takes

Most first consultations run 20-45 minutes. Complex matters (contested divorce with property division, multi-vehicle accident with potential third-party defendants, multi-charge criminal matters) may take 60-90 minutes. We do not charge regardless of length.

What Happens After

After the consultation you will receive, by email or by mail, a written engagement letter that documents:

• The scope of representation
• The fee structure
• The retainer amount (if any)
• The communications expectations
• The conflicts check confirmation

Nothing in the engagement letter contradicts what we said at consultation. You may take time to review and ask questions before signing. There is no pressure to retain on the consultation call.

If you decide not to retain Avery & Avery, the conversation we had is confidential under RPC 1.18 (duties to prospective clients). We do not share your matter information, and we will not represent any opposing party in the same matter.

Submit Your Matter

For matter-specific preparation, the most useful background reading is the practice page that fits your situation: criminal defense, DWI, traffic, personal injury, family law, landlord-tenant, estate planning, or municipal court practice.

For our fee structure and our office location, see those pages directly.