Walk in with the file already built
Lawyers bill for the hour they spend asking you for documents1. We assemble them first, so the first thing your attorney reads is the record instead of the story.
What you hand over
The timeline
Every date that matters, in order, with the document that proves each one.
The contract and change orders
What was agreed, what was altered afterwards, and who signed which version.
The correspondence record
What you asked for, when you asked, and what came back.
Photographs, indexed
Each one tied to the defect it shows and the date it was taken.
The money
What you paid, what remains owed, and what it will cost to put right.
The rules that apply where you live
The license, the bond, the warranty and the filing deadlines for your state and your trade.
Why people build one
The number is big enough to matter
Enough money is at stake that you have already thought about a lawyer.
They have stopped answering
Calls, emails and warranty claims have run out of road.
A deadline is running
Statutes, warranty windows and bond claim periods expire, and most of them are shorter than people expect.
Where does the file go?
You decide that, and you can decide it later. The same file works in all three.
To an attorney
They open a file that is already organised rather than starting one from your memory.
To small claims
Most people represent themselves there, and the evidence is the whole job.
To arbitration
Your contract may already require it. The file is what you file.
Nowhere yet
It keeps. Deadlines do not, which is the reason to build it now.
It comes with the paper trail
Every Build Your Case file includes our self-advocacy pack: the letters, the demands and the escalation steps you can take yourself before anyone else is involved.
Walking in having already tried is worth more than walking in having only complained. The attempts become part of the record.
Start with what happened
Tell us about the work, the money and the dates. We will tell you where you stand.
Disclosures
- 1.Attorneys set their own rates and billing practices. Any comparison to the cost of legal time is general and is not a quotation, an estimate, or a statement about any particular attorney or matter.
- 2.Satisfy prepares materials. We are not a lawyer referral service, we do not select or recommend attorneys for you, and nothing we provide is a promise that any attorney will agree to represent you.
- 3.The materials organize information you supply. They are not an evaluation of your legal position and they do not state whether you have a claim, what it is worth, or how it would be decided.
- Small claims limits, arbitration rules and filing deadlines vary by state and by contract. Confirm the ones that apply to you.