I write a tight brief first (“month-to-month, deposit in limbo, two-week window”), set a starter budget, and block two time slots I can actually keep; then I pull a local directory and filter by the lanes that match—tenancy, small claims, contracts—and open profiles to check plain-English descriptions, posted hours, and whether they’ve handled scenarios like mine; next I message three candidates with the same three bullets (what happened, outcome I want, actual deadline) and give the first call to whoever replies within a business day with a concrete next step; for a neutral launch point I keep Lawyers in Prince Rupert, BC bookmarked so I’m not starting from zero; in the consult I ask them to map the first 30 days—letters to send, documents to collect, decision gates if we try to settle vs. push—and I get money talk out early: expected retainer range, hourly vs. flat for specific tasks, plus extras like filing or courier fees; I also bring a one-page packet (dates, notices, photos) so we spend minutes on options instead of digging through my inbox; tiebreaker is tone: if they translate without condescension, flag risks calmly, and offer at least two realistic paths, that’s usually the sign I can breathe again.
RECENT NEWS
