Read all information on this page! Then call Mr. Shahrestani at (800) 510-3916 to request a Consultation.
Use the button at the bottom of this page to pay for a 1 hour Phone Consultation with Mr. Shahrestani.
After you have made your payment, immediately call Mr. Shahrestani to schedule an appointment.
Introduction: An appointment for an Initial Consultation is required if you wish to discuss your question or case with attorney Ali Shahrestani. Mr. Shahrestani can provide you a 1 hour Phone Consultation Appointment often the same day that you call to request one, or within a couple business days. Time permitting, he can briefly review up to 3 or 4 pages of documents emailed in .pdf format during (not before/ after) the Phone Consultation.
“I just wanted to say thank you for seeing my daughter and me yesterday regarding our inquiries to get some peaceable communications set up between parents. You were so encouraging to the both of us. I look forward to some positive outcome from what has been a rather bumpy road. Thank you again.”
What is a Consultation? Phone Consultations are performed directly by Mr. Shahrestani and not by a junior associate, law clerk, or paralegal like at so many law firms. He is the attorney who personally performs all work on his clients’ cases because that is the way it should be. During the Phone Consultation you can discuss the general aspects of your legal issue, briefly review a few pages of your emailed related documents, discuss possible legal strategies, consider your budget for representation, and determine whether it’s a good fit to work with Mr. Shahrestani. Should you decide to hire him, this Initial Consultation can help you understand the scope of representation that you may desire. In the Consultation, the attorney will hear your outline of your legal concerns and will ask you questions focused on the legally relevant facts. Then the attorney will provide you some thoughts and opinions on your legal concerns. Thus, between asking you questions and speaking to you about his thoughts on your issue, the attorney does much talking during a Consultation. When you pay for an Initial Consultation, remember that you are paying in part for the attorney to ask you such questions and to hear him speak about your relevant legal concerns. Also please take note that in order to preserve the privilege of confidentiality for prospective clients, Mr. Shahrestani does not allow people other than the prospective client to be within earshot of the conversation; this applies even to family members, spouses, parents of teens under 18, personal assistants, and so on.
What should I not expect from a Consultation? You might have relatively limited experience with consulting with an attorney. By paying for a Consultation with Mr. Shahrestani, you are not simply paying for an hour of his time to do whatever legal or other work you want. An Initial Consultation is inherently introductory and brief in nature, and it is focused on a discussion of your relevant legal concerns in a format and manner as described on this page. Therefore an Initial Consultation is not an opportunity to have the attorney hear every detail and thought of yours about your legal issue; nor is the Initial Consultation an opportunity to have the attorney answer all the major legal questions you may have about your matter, determine what specific statutes or laws apply to your case, guide you to handle your case on your own, indicate which legal forms to fill out or what procedural steps to take to file a lawsuit on your own, or perform substantive legal work for you. Legal research, review and analysis, negotiations, and/or litigation are work that are the subject of potential attorney representation which is formed only via an Attorney-Client Contract, and are not work performed during an Initial Consultation. With that, temper your expectations.
A Consultation is not the same as Attorney Representation. As stated above, a phone consultation is an introductory conversation about your general legal concerns. Remember that whether you have a Phone Consultation or whether you email Mr. Shahrestani, such communications do not in and of themselves create an Attorney-Client relationship. The only way that Mr. Shahrestani creates an Attorney-Client relationship is by way of a formal and mutually signed Attorney-Client Contract. Mr. Shahrestani practices law only in California, New York, and Massachusetts. In basic terms, in order for him to be able to discuss your matter or provide you any legal representation, it is legally required that you, your case, your legal issue, and/ or the opposing party reside in and be jurisdictionally tied to one of these states. You can learn more about jurisdiction here on the California Courts website.
Want the most productive Consultation? Legal consultations with Mr. Shahrestani are confidential. So most importantly, be totally honest, clear, and forthcoming about all the facts of your case even if it’s embarrassing to you, otherwise you risk misdirecting and frustrating the attorney who is trying to help you! Don’t lie, don’t be vague, and don’t be shy about getting to the heart of the truth! Here’s a crucial article by Mr. Shahrestani with a lot more on this subject. Secondly, be reasonably well prepared and email Mr. Shahrestani beforehand any necessary documents you want him to briefly review during the consultation appointment itself, time permitting. Make sure they’re in pdf format only, as word documents are not accepted for security reasons. Third, be very polite, as that helps to maintain healthy and productive communications. Mr. Shahrestani provides honest, straight-talking, and professional thoughts to prospective clients about their legal concerns, and that doesn’t always mean painting a rosy picture. Arguing with the attorney is not a good use of anyone’s time. You are advised to seek a second opinion from another well-credentialed attorney even when you’re satisfied with a consultation, and even more so when you’re not.
Remember to Call before and after Paying! You must call and speak with Mr. Shahrestani to request a Consultation just prior to making any payment for one on this page, and then immediately call him right afterwards to schedule your appointment. It is important that you remain responsive and flexible about setting the date and time for your appointment. Please note that if you make a Consultation payment without prior written approval, Mr. Shahrestani may choose to immediately cancel and refund it (minus at least the PayPal processing fee), or at his discretion the payment will be applied to setting a Phone Consultation appointment for you that will take place within 7 calendar days of the time of your payment and at a date and time based solely upon Mr. Shahrestani’s schedule and availability. If you are paying for someone else to have a Phone Consultation with the attorney, the law requires that both of you first separately email Mr. Shahrestani to inform him of the arrangement and provide him full contact information for each of you.
Special Considerations for Mental Disorders. If you have any history of addiction (e.g., alcohol, drugs, etc.), mental incompetence, involuntary commitment in a mental institution (e.g., due to severe mental illness, dementia, brain injury, etc.), or serious mental illnesses (e.g., bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, etc.), Mr. Shahrestani requires your treating medical and psychological doctors’ written confirmation that you are mentally fit and capable of giving consent and that you are currently properly medicated (if relevant to your issue) before the attorney provides any legal services including an initial consultation. Please be prepared to comply with this request, otherwise the attorney may refuse to provide an initial consultation or any legal services. The Consultation intake form specifically asks about this type of information. This protocol is designed to ensure that any clients with such a history are protected and prepared for attorney representation with the attorney. There are other attorneys who do not employ such safeguards, and if you so need you may feel free of course to work with them instead.
Consultation Refunds? If you do not use all of the time of your Consultation appointment, there is no refund for the unused portion of that time nor will the remaining or unused time of your appointment be carried over to a later date or time. To commence your Consultation, you must call Mr. Shahrestani at the exact time of commencement of your appointment, otherwise you will forfeit any lost time if you call late. Requests for a refund must be made at least 2 days before the appointment. No matter the reason for any consultation cancellation and related refund, a nominal processing fee of 4% of your paid Consultation fee is not refunded. If you fail to appear for your appointment, you will totally forfeit your payment for the Consultation. Mr. Shahrestani reserves the right to refuse any request for a refund if he rejected another prospective client’s appointment request in favor of yours.
