How to prepare your information before speaking to a solicitor

If you're preparing to speak to a solicitor, you may already have months or years of messages, emails, screenshots and documents connected to the matter.

The temptation can be to send everything you have, write a long summary, or try to work out for yourself which pieces are most important. But useful preparation can be much simpler than that.

The aim is to make the information you already have easier to follow, while keeping the original messages, emails and documents available to check.

Don't try to do your solicitor's job before the meeting

Organising your information is not the same as deciding what is legally important.

You may have a clear view about which messages or events matter most. That's useful context to bring to a conversation with your solicitor, but it doesn't mean you need to build the legal case yourself before you speak to them.

Your job at this stage is simpler: make it easier to explain what has happened and find the information you may need to refer to. Your solicitor can then advise you on what they need and what may be relevant to the legal issues.

Start with the story you need to explain

Before thinking about folders, screenshots or filing systems, take a moment to think about the situation you need to explain.

You don't need to write a detailed statement. It may simply help to make a few notes covering:

• what has happened;
• roughly when it started;
• who is involved;
• what has changed or led you to seek advice now; and
• where the messages, emails or documents you may want to refer to are stored.

Keep this brief. The purpose is to give yourself a simple overview so you're not trying to reconstruct the entire history from memory during the conversation.

Make yourself a short meeting note

A short meeting note can help you organise your thoughts before the conversation.

For each main point you want to discuss, you could note:

What happened
A short, factual description.

When
The date or approximate period, if you know it.

Where is the information?
For example, WhatsApp, email, a letter or another document.

What do I want to ask?
A reminder of anything you want to raise with your solicitor.

This isn't a formal legal document and it doesn't replace the original messages, emails or documents. It's simply a prompt to help you explain the situation and find information during the conversation.

If the history is long, make the sequence easier to explain

If the matter has developed over months or years, it can be difficult to explain everything in order from memory.

Jotting down the main dates and events can give you a simple route through the history. It doesn't need to include every message or every detail, and you don't need to prepare a formal chronology unless you've been asked to do so.

For example, you might note when something started, when an arrangement changed, when an important conversation took place or when a document was received.

If you refer to a particular event, it helps if you can also find the message, email or document connected to it.

If you're preparing a formal chronology for court or another legal process, different requirements may apply. Your solicitor can advise you on what is needed.

Related guide: How to build a chronology from messages, emails and documents [Coming soon]

Write down the questions you want to ask

When you're trying to explain a long or complicated situation, it can be easy to finish the conversation and realise you've forgotten something you wanted to ask.

Before the meeting, write down the questions that are already on your mind. You don't need to work out the legal questions yourself, simply note what you want advice or clarification about.

Keep the list somewhere you can refer to during the conversation, and leave space to make notes if that helps.

What not to spend hours doing before the meeting

Preparing can help, but you don't need to turn it into a major project before you get legal advice.

Don't feel you need to:

• create a perfect filing system;
• write a long account covering every detail;
• manually copy hundreds or thousands of messages into another document;
• reduce a long conversation to only the messages you think prove your position; or
• delay speaking to a solicitor because your information isn't perfectly organised.

The goal is to make the situation easier to explain and the information easier to find, not to arrive with a finished legal case.

Before you speak to your solicitor: a simple check

You don't need to arrive with everything perfectly prepared. Before the conversation, it may help to ask:

• Can I explain the main situation in a few sentences?
• Do I have a rough idea of the main dates or sequence of events?
• Do I know where the messages, emails or documents I may want to refer to are?
• If I mention an important conversation, could I find it again?
• Have I written down the questions I want to ask?
• Is there something I know exists but haven't been able to find?

If the answer to some of these is no, that doesn't mean you shouldn't speak to a solicitor. It simply shows you where a little preparation might make the conversation easier.

What if you have hundreds or thousands of messages?

At larger volumes, preparing for a conversation with a solicitor can become much harder.

Scrolling through conversations, taking screenshots or trying to find particular exchanges manually can take significant time, especially when messages stretch across months or years.

The challenge isn't simply having the information. It's being able to navigate it and find what you're looking for when you need it.

LegallyHeard's time and cost calculator can help you estimate how long it could take to review your messages manually.

How LegallyHeard can help you prepare

LegallyHeard is designed for situations where a large amount of information has become difficult to navigate and review manually.

You can bring supported message exports into your case, read conversations in date order, search imported messages and move back to the surrounding conversation when you need more context. Supporting documents can also be kept within the case workspace.

You can mark information you want to return to and add your own notes without changing the original message record.

This can make it easier to follow a long communication history, find particular conversations again and prepare to discuss the information with a solicitor or other professional.

LegallyHeard doesn't decide what matters legally. It helps you organise and navigate the information, while keeping the original words, sources and context within reach.

See how LegallyHeard works