Louisiana Rules of Professional Conduct
prospective clients · confidentiality · fees · communications about legal services · advertising and website information
Source reviewed 2026-07-31Focused legal review before the next move
Schedule a Legal Consultation
A consultation is a focused legal review, not a generic sales call. The firm uses the available time to identify the parties, objective, current posture, deadlines, known risks, documents already available, missing information, and the strongest next moves supported by the facts and law. Bring the facts as they are, including the ones that may complicate the case.
Direct answer
What does a consultation cost?
The current consultation fee is $150 for a scheduled phone or video consultation and $250 for a scheduled in-office consultation at the Gretna office. The fee pays for the scheduled limited review. The attorney may provide legal analysis and advice within that consultation, subject to the available information and agreed format. It does not hire the firm to file, appear, monitor a case, protect a deadline, or provide ongoing representation unless a separate written engagement expressly accepts that work. It does not automatically apply to a future legal fee unless a written agreement says so.
On this page
Choose the format that fits the record and the people who need to participate
Phone and video consultations are available for matters that can be reviewed remotely, including federal immigration matters involving clients, employers, petitioners, organizations, and families located elsewhere in the United States or abroad. The current fee is $150.
In-office consultations are held by appointment at 2000 Belle Chasse Highway, Suite 200B, Gretna, Louisiana 70056. The current fee is $250. An office appointment may be useful when original records, several participants, interpretation logistics, or a document-heavy matter make in-person review more effective.
Provide the matter, parties, deadline, posture, and key documents before the appointment
The scheduling information should identify the type of matter, full names of involved parties for conflict review, current location, court or agency, case or receipt numbers, detention status, next deadline, and the decision the prospective client needs to make.
Key notices, charging documents, decisions, petitions, approval or denial notices, contracts, criminal dispositions, identity records, court papers, and a concise chronology are more useful than an unsorted archive. Do not withhold a difficult fact because it may affect the answer.
A scheduled consultation is not an emergency filing or deadline-preservation service
Booking, paying, leaving voicemail, sending email, or uploading documents does not extend a deadline, enter an appearance, stop removal, prevent transfer, stay a court order, reserve a visa number, or obligate the firm to file anything.
The prospective client must identify urgent dates clearly. The firm may be unable to accept a matter when the remaining time is insufficient for conflict review, investigation, engagement, payment, preparation, and lawful filing.
Identify who the client may be and who will attend
An employer, organization, petitioner, beneficiary, spouse, parent, detained person, sponsor, victim, or family member may have different interests. The person paying for a consultation is not automatically the client, and the firm may not be able to advise several people whose interests conflict.
Interpretation, accessibility, minors, confidential victim information, and participation from another country should be arranged before the appointment when possible. A family member should not interpret when safety, accuracy, or divided loyalty creates a problem.
The consultation identifies issues and options; it may not finish a full investigation
The attorney may explain the governing framework, identify records needed, flag deadline or eligibility concerns, compare procedural routes, discuss likely scope, or state that more research or documents are required before a reliable opinion can be given.
No consultation can guarantee what a court, agency, consular officer, law-enforcement body, employer, creditor, or opposing party will do. A preliminary assessment can change when the complete record is obtained.
The scheduled consultation and ongoing case representation are different scopes
An accepted consultation is a limited attorney review of the questions, facts, and records available during the scheduled time. Professional duties may apply to that consultation, but the consultation does not make the firm counsel of record or responsible for work that was not accepted.
Filing, appearing, contacting an agency or opposing party, preserving a deadline, monitoring a docket, reviewing later documents, or continuing advice requires a separate written engagement that identifies the client, scope, fee, responsibilities, and exclusions.
Ongoing representation begins only through a separate written engagement
After the consultation, the firm may decline the matter, request additional records, offer a limited or full engagement, refer the person elsewhere, or identify a task the prospective client must complete first. No one should assume the firm is handling a deadline without a signed engagement that expressly includes it.
Any scope, fee, deposit, payment schedule, client identity, responsibilities, exclusions, and deadline assumptions must be stated in the engagement agreement.
Questions people actually ask
Frequently asked questions
Does paying the consultation fee hire the firm for the case?
It pays for the scheduled limited consultation, during which the attorney may provide analysis or advice based on the available record. It does not hire the firm to file, appear, monitor deadlines, or handle the broader case. Any further limited or ongoing representation requires a separate written engagement agreement.
Can a family member schedule for a detained person?
A family member may provide intake information and pay for a consultation, but the detained person’s identity, interests, authorization, conflicts, facility, documents, and communication access must be addressed before representation is established.
Can documents be emailed before the consultation?
Follow the scheduling instructions and use the designated secure method when provided. Do not send passwords, complete identity archives, shelter locations, confidential informant information, or emergency evidence through an ordinary public channel without instructions.
Will the attorney give a guaranteed price for the whole case during the consultation?
A fee proposal may be possible when the scope and record are sufficiently clear. Complex, emergency, appellate, detained, federal-court, employer-enforcement, or incomplete matters may require additional review before a reliable scope and fee can be offered.
Is the consultation fee refundable after the appointment occurs?
The consultation fee compensates the reserved attorney time and review. Any cancellation, rescheduling, or refund terms should be displayed in the scheduling system and confirmed at booking.
Authority and current-source review
Official sources supporting this page
These links identify primary or official materials used to control material legal and procedural statements. They are not a substitute for advice about a particular matter.
Current Public Website
public firm identity · office address · phone · email · current service categories
Source reviewed 2026-07-31The next useful move
Phone or video: $150. In office in Gretna: $250.
Use secure scheduling to select the available format and provide conflict names, the matter type, exact deadlines, location, case numbers, and the key documents requested by the intake instructions.
Important legal and service limitations
Contacting Steel & Associates, A Professional Law Corporation, submitting an intake form, scheduling or paying for a consultation, sending documents, calling, texting, chatting, or emailing does not by itself create ongoing representation. A consultation that the firm accepts and conducts is limited to the scheduled review unless a written agreement states otherwise. Responsibility for filing, appearing, monitoring, or protecting a deadline begins only after conflict review and a written engagement agreement that expressly accepts that responsibility.
The website, email, voicemail, and public intake systems are not emergency filing systems and do not preserve a court, agency, appeal, detention, surrender, departure, or statutory deadline.