An initial consultation (“Erstberatung”) is a flat-rate, approximate initial consultation. As a rule, many questions are already clarified during an initial consultation. It is also discussed whether and what further action is necessary or sensible and what costs are to be expected approximately – after the first impression. In this way, you usually already know quite well where you stand legally. Last but not least, the initial consultation also serves to get to know each other, which goes beyond a short telephone call.
In certain cases, the costs of the initial consultation will be taken into account in the event of a subsequent assignment of a mandate.
Please bring your documents to the initial consultation or provide them to me (by e-mail or mail, etc.) before the consultation begins. The documents will usually be reviewed (only) during the consultation.
In the areas of my many years of specialization, you will often already receive considerably more in the course of my initial consultation than merely a “general, rough initial consultation”, which otherwise constitutes an initial consultation. Experience shows that in many such cases, many questions can even be conclusively clarified.
However, certain restrictions apply to the initial consultation. It may not be possible to clarify all questions; the documents might not be looked through at all or only in part and, as a rule, cannot be legally examined and/or numerically evaluated. The initial consultation ends with the end of the discussion; further discussions do not usually take place within the framework of the initial consultation. It can be – and occasionally is – agreed that certain points will be briefly followed up, e.g. if an essential question could not be answered immediately or an essential point in the facts of the case had to be clarified first.
In return, the initial consultation is very inexpensive; I offer special rates for it. For consumers it is limited by law to a maximum of 226,10 € (190,- € net plus 19 % VAT).
Especially to prevent legal problems before they arise, the use of the initial consultation is often the smartest and cheapest alternative.