To become a client, please first contact the firm by telephone or complete the Contact form online. One of our professional staff will have a confidential conversation with you, as a first step to ensure that we are able to assist you by running a conflicts check. We take our ethical obligations to you very seriously and this ensures that no one in our firm has represented anyone else associated with your case.

After we have completed a conflicts check, one of our attorneys will call you for a brief initial consultation about your legal needs. We will answer questions, explain our fee structure, and help you schedule a consultation with the member of our legal team best-suited for your specific legal needs.

During your initial consultation, you will meet with one or more of our attorneys at our Knoxville office. If you happen to live outside of Knox County or one of the surrounding counties, we can also arrange for you to have a consultation via telephone or video conference if you choose.

Our attorneys will learn about you and your family as well as your particular legal needs. We will advise you about the law in Tennessee and how it applies to your case. We will formulate and discuss with you a legal strategy based on our extensive knowledge and experience that will put you in the best position for a successful outcome.

At the consultation, you will also have the opportunity to ask any questions you may have about your case or what you may be able to expect as you navigate the legal system. Our attorneys each have years of experience working for clients in courts throughout East Tennessee and can provide insider knowledge that can make the difference for your case.

What you need to bring to your consultation is dependent upon where in the process your case may be. If you already have an ongoing case or if you have been served, please bring any paperwork you may have already received.

If there is not yet an active case, please bring any documents that are relevant to the issues you may be dealing with. This may include financial statements, copies of communications with the opposing party, calendars, photographs, etc.

If you are a divorce client, it will be helpful for you to compile a list that inventories your assets and debts. This will allow us to more specifically answer your questions and tailor our advice to your particular situation.

If your case involves modifying or enforcing an existing court order, please bring your existing order as well as whatever documentation you have that demonstrates the basis for enforcement or modification of that order.

If you and your attorney mutually decide to move forward with your case, your attorney will provide you with an engagement agreement that spells out the terms of our representation and the attorney-client relationship.

You must sign and return your engagement agreement prior to work commencing on your case. As Abraham Lincoln (may have) said, “The purpose of an engagement letter is so the client knows he has a lawyer, and the lawyer knows he has a client.”