To understand this topic, one must have a general grasp of what the phrase “civil litigation” means.
It can mean a legal dispute between two parties, that is not family law, or criminal law.
That is not an all encompassing definition, but it will do for now.
You will be filled with the emotions inherent to your case, be they anger or fear or confusion or some combination. Hopefully, the lawyer you are seeing will let you speak for about half an hour and gently question you during that time.
Ever wonder what is going on in his/her head?
Yes, partly, it can be amazement about some of the facts you have described.
Mostly, however, it will be mundane, but important things like: (a) who is the client, is it the person in the room, or is it a corporation, or is it a minor and can documentation be given to prove identity, (b) can the dispute be heard by a court or tribunal in the area, or is there some contractual clause or law that will mandate it be heard elsewhere, (c) are you definitely in time to sue, or has the limitation period passed, (d) assuming you have been wronged and it can be proven, does the potential defendant have any money or assets to pay the judgment, (e) is the area of law in question known or is it some obscure niche area of law (like patent law for example).
If you know these are the important questions, you can get the most out of your first meeting with your proposed civil litigation lawyer. One other tip, always helps to bring a Tim Horton’s coffee- it is like the oil that greases the gears of litigation lawyers.