How it works, from your first message to the end of your case

You tell us what happened

Tell us in your own words: in a short form, by email or text, or just call us. All we need is what happened and a way to reach you. If you tell us who's on the other side, we use it for one thing only: to make sure we don't already work for them.

Telling us doesn't make us your lawyer. That only happens if we both agree.

A lawyer at our firm looks at your case

A lawyer at The Clemenza Law Group, PLLC looks at your case, with people at the firm who work under that lawyer's supervision.

We tell you straight what we can do

There are two honest answers, and you'll get one of them.

• We can help, and your case is best led day to day by a firm that does your kind of case where it happened. We choose that firm, and we stay responsible for your case with them.
• We can't help with this one, and we tell you so.

Either way, no one can promise how a case will end, and we won't pretend to.

How we choose the firm to lead your case

We start with what your case actually needs: the kind of case, where it happened and which lawyers can take it there, whether it may need to go to court, the language you're most comfortable in, and whether the firm has time to give it proper attention now.

Then we choose the one best suited to lead yours, from firms we have vetted for their expertise and track record. We've checked them ourselves, and we stay responsible for your case with them.

What "vetted" means

Before we ask you to trust a firm with your case, we've already checked it.

• It knows your kind of case. Its lawyers do this work regularly, and they're ready to go to court if your case needs it.
• It has a track record. We look at how its cases have gone and how it treats its clients.
• It's licensed, in good standing and insured. We check each lawyer's license and discipline record where your case is, and the firm's malpractice insurance (the insurance that protects you if a lawyer makes a costly mistake).
• It keeps measuring up. We keep track of whether it returns calls and keeps you informed. If it falls short, we stop bringing it new cases, and we act on any case it already has.

You decide

Nothing goes ahead until you say yes. If you'd rather not work with the firm we chose, tell us, and we'll tell you plainly what else we can do.

Who you talk to

The firm leading your case day to day is your first call for questions about it. They know the details, like what the other side said yesterday or when your next appointment is. Their phone number and email are in your portal.

Write to us whenever something doesn't feel right, when you can't reach them, or when you just want to know someone is keeping an eye on things. We'll answer, and we'll take it up with them.

What we do the whole time

When another firm leads your case, we don't step away. Both firms answer to you for your case until it's over. That means we:

• check in with them often, and post our own notes in your portal;
• keep our own calendar of every deadline in your case;
• read their updates, and ask when something is unclear or slow;
• answer when you write to us, and take it up with them if something doesn't feel right;
• stay with you, and responsible for your case, until it's over, however it ends.

If we can't help

Sometimes the answer is no. The problem may be outside what we handle, we may not have a vetted firm for it where it happened, or we may already work for someone on the other side. We tell you plainly, and in that last case we may not be able to say why.

Where we can help

We look at cases from anywhere in the United States. Our lawyer is admitted in New York, and a case somewhere else usually needs a lawyer licensed there, which is one reason another firm may lead it day to day.

Questions people ask