Prepare your consultation

A first consultation works best when the documents do the talking. You do not need to prepare a speech, and you do not need to know the legal names for anything — that is my job. What moves your file forward is paper and dates. This guide tells you exactly what to gather and what to expect from the meeting.

The first consultation is free. You leave with a clear reading of your situation, with no obligation.

Bring every document — especially the bad ones

The single most useful thing you can do is bring everything, in whatever state it is:

• The decision or letter that made you call — with its envelope or email, because the date you received it often decides the deadline.
• Every immigration document you have: forms, your Basis of Claim form (BOC) if you made a refugee claim, hearing notices, previous decisions, receipts, letters from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) or the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).
• Identity documents: passports (valid or expired), identity cards, birth certificates — for you and your family members.
• Anything from a previous representative: contracts, receipts, copies of what they filed.
• If a criminal file exists, anywhere: charging documents, court decisions, proof the sentence was completed.

Do not clean up the pile. The unfavourable document, the one you would rather leave at home, is precisely the one I must see — I can only deal with what I know about, and surprises help no one. Everything you show me is protected by professional secrecy.

Know your dates, roughly

Before the meeting, try to reconstruct a simple timeline: when you arrived in Canada, when you claimed or applied, when the hearing was, when the decision arrived. Approximate is fine. If you have appointments coming — with the CBSA, with a tribunal — bring the notices. Deadlines and dates are usually the first thing we sort out together.

Write down your questions

Stress erases memory. Write your questions in advance — including the uncomfortable ones: what happens if we lose, how long it takes, what it costs. You are allowed to take notes during the meeting, and you are allowed to ask me to repeat or slow down. The consultation happens in French, English or Spanish, directly — no interpreter needed between us.

What happens during the consultation

The pattern is consistent. I read your documents and ask questions — many are about dates. Then I tell you plainly where your file stands: what procedures are open, what deadlines apply (each verified against the current rules), what I would do, and in what order. You will also hear what I cannot tell you: no lawyer can promise an outcome, and you should be careful with anyone who does. You leave with the options explained and next steps named.

What it costs, in what order

Two things, always in this order. First, legal aid: if your income may qualify, we check that before anything else — the guide on legal aid explains how. Second, if legal aid does not apply, I explain my fees in writing before any work begins, so the decision to proceed is yours, made with the numbers in front of you.

After the consultation

You leave with three things: an honest reading of your file, the applicable deadlines named and dated, and a recommendation. If we agree to work together, the mandate and the fees are confirmed in writing before anything is filed. If you decide to think about it, you take the deadline dates with you — they belong to you either way. And if your file needs a kind of law I do not practise, such as business immigration or sponsorship, I say so and point you in the right direction rather than keep the file.

A few practicalities

A consultation does not commit you to anything: you can consult and then decide, or seek a second opinion — deadlines permitting, and we will name them so you know your room. If a family member wants to join to help, they are welcome; the decisions remain yours. And if some documents are missing on the day, come anyway — a consultation with half the pile beats no consultation, and the rest can follow.

If you have the beginnings of a pile and a date on a letter, you are ready. Let's talk about it.