Q & A

Office hours are
9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Monday through Friday
Excluding all Court holidays

However, accommodation can be arranged to meet with the attorney telephonically.  While ZOOM video conference or Microsoft Teams or Skype are also possible ways of communicating, these methods cannot be secured sufficiently to meet attorney client privilege standards and may not be utilized for certain communications in an effort to preserve privilege. Please make sure that if you have a preference as to the meeting location and format, discuss that with the attorney or the attorney’s staff when you schedule any meeting or appointment.

At this time no, the law office does not provide legal services in languages other than English. If you require translation or interpretation, you must make your own independent arrangements to provide your own translator or interpreter for any communications you may wish to have with the law office and attorney.

Potential clients are invited to review this website and its information to see if Sayyar Law’s legal experience and skills meet the needs of the potential client. For a more detailed determination, a potential client can contact the office directly to set up an initial consultation at which time Sayyar Law will personally review the issues in question with a potential client to determine if the potential client wishes to retain this firm.

The client is the person or legal entity (such as a corporation or limited liability company, for example) who has a legal issue or case and is seeking or in need of legal services or advice. The client will be specified by name in the written agreement between the attorney and the client. The client is not necessarily the person who pays the attorney. The attorney owes certain legal duties to the client or potential client only.

Please review the Legal Services section of this website for a detailed list of the cases and matters that the attorney handles. Within the practice areas that we do handle, if a matter requires more specialized knowledge or experience that this law office cannot or will not provide, the attorney will inform you of this when the issue arises so you can seek additional, associate, or replacement counsel.

The law office generally does not provide legal services in the areas of family law, intellectual property, or criminal law. The law office does not generally provide legal services outside of the San Diego County, California, or Clark County, Nevada areas without detailed discussion with the potential client first of the related costs involved.

Sayyar Law is licensed to practice in the states of Nevada and California.  Sayyar Law has experience both in state and federal courts in these jurisdictions as well as some limited creditor practice in bankruptcy courts.

This is the relationship that is formed when a client retains or hires an attorney to provide the client with legal services. The scope of the relationship is set forth in detail in the written agreement that will be signed by the client and the attorney also known as the retainer agreement. Once that relationship is created, the attorney owes the client certain duties at law including but not limited to the duty of confidentiality and the duty of loyalty. The attorney-client relationship can be terminated pursuant to the terms of the written agreement between the attorney and client and as permitted by law.

A conflict of interest is defined by law for each state. Generally speaking, a conflict of interest arises when the attorney’s ability to represent the client and fulfill the attorney’s duties of loyalty and confidentiality (among others) is hampered. For example, Client A is a long-time or past client of the Attorney. Potential Client B wants to hire an Attorney to sue Client A. The Attorney has either a conflict of interest or a potential conflict of interest depending on the specific factual circumstances. In the event of an actual conflict, this law office will notify the affected client and/or potential client, not take on representation, and/or will cease existing representation as may be required under the ethical rules. In the event of a potential conflict of interest, the Attorney will abide by the notice and other disclosure requirements set by law before determining if the Attorney can continue or begin representation. It is entirely within the Attorney’s discretion how to handle a conflict or a potential conflict of interest. Once a potential or actual conflict exists the Attorney is bound to abide by the ethical and legal requirements resolving the same.

See the Resources section of this website for links to the Nevada State Bar and the California State Bar referral services.

Consultations may be set up by contacting the law firm telephonically during business hours or leaving a message after hours for a call back the following business day. The law office schedules consultations for a specific date and time to guarantee that a potential client has Sayyar Law’s attention and focus for the time necessary to review the legal issues.

Consultations may also be set up by email. A reply email or follow-up phone call will be made during which time an initial consultation date and time will be set.

Call us at 760-542-8717

Email us at office@vistalwyer.net

Generally, unless special arrangements are made, the first portion of any initial consultation is telephonic with the attorney calling the potential client at a phone number at a set date and time. Additional necessary communications or follow-up as may be necessary can occur telephonically, in person, or via email as may be arranged between the attorney and the potential client.

The law office does NOT provide free initial consultations for four key reasons.

First, in business matters some initial document review is frequently necessary for the potential client and the law office to mutually determine if the case can or should be taken in the first place. Document review is also frequently critical in determining what options a potential client has to resolve their legal issue.

Second, it is possible that some preliminary research may be necessary to evaluate whether the potential client wants to pursue a case or transactional matter further, how the potential client may want to pursue the case or matter further, and/or whether the law firm is the right “fit” for the potential client’s needs.

Third, as no free consultations are provided, a potential client is not limited to X amount of attorney minutes but has the freedom to talk and discuss the matter with Sayyar Law at length before making the critical decision of whether to retain the attorney or not.

Fourth, the attorney must take the time to ensure no conflicts of interest exist that would prevent Sayyar Law (or her Of Counsel) from representing the potential client and for the potential client and the attorney to come to mutually agreeable terms of payment and retainer.

It is for these reasons that consultations are not offered for free but for the flat fee price to be set based on the nature of the legal issue. This initial consultation fee must be paid at or before the consultation between the attorney and potential client. The cost of the initial consultation will be set on a case-by-case basis depending on the nature of the issue at the time the initial consultation is calendared.

You will be expected to provide your name, address, phone number, facsimile number, and email address if you have them. If you are a representative of an entity or a family member or friend of the actual person with the legal problem, case, or issue, we will need to know that at the time of scheduling to preliminarily check for conflicts of interest. If you are representing someone who is the actual potential client or speak for an entity we will also require the name, address, phone number, facsimile number, and email address of the actual potential client or entity.

You will be asked to provide some brief information regarding your legal issue to verify that it is, in fact, a case that the law office will consider taking. Please note that the staff of the law office are not attorneys and cannot and will not give legal advice.

You may be faxed or emailed a copy of a credit card authorization if you wish to pay the consultation fee via credit card and your meeting with the attorney is not in person. This form must be sent back to the law office on or before the date and time of your initial consultation. If you are not provided with the form at the time of scheduling, arrangements will be made to obtain your credit card information telephonically at the time the attorney makes the initial consultation phone call.

If there are relevant documents involved in the matter, you may be asked to fax or email them over to the attorney so that she has them before her to review during your first conversation. Please note that the attorney will not review documents before the consultation unless you plan to pay the consultation fee at the time of scheduling the consultation.

Unless other arrangements are made at the time of attorney scheduling, your initial consultation will begin with attorney Sayyar Law contacting you via telephone at the set date and time to discuss your case or legal issue. The conversation will be confidential even if you choose not to retain Sayyar Law’s services. Your issues will be discussed. You can expect the attorney to ask questions and for copies of relevant documents. You can ask the attorney questions as well. You can expect to be asked what your goals are. You can expect a frank discussion about your legal issue or dispute with the attorney. If the attorney requires more information, additional research, review of documentation, or a follow-up meeting either telephonically or in person, such matters will be arranged during the initial call. If requested, a retainer agreement outlining the fee plan chosen may be prepared and sent to you for review. A general summary of potential payment options is set forth in this FAQ. However, each case is unique and the attorney will determine based on the legal services a potential client needs what type of fee arrangement is possible.

If you miss your initial consultation telephone conference, and you can call back in the next 15 minutes from the date and time originally scheduled the attorney will likely still be able to take your call. However, if you call back later than 15 minutes from your scheduled time there is no guarantee that the attorney will still have sufficient time to address your issue in full or at all due to court and other appointments. In such an event, your consultation will have to be rescheduled to when the attorney is next available.

If you are running late for an initial consultation in-person meeting, the attorney will still see you but the time she may be able to spend with you may be limited in time due to other appointments on her calendar. If you miss an in-person consultation meeting, you must contact the office via telephone to reschedule.

If you wish to cancel or reschedule your appointment, the law office requests that you provide at least 24 hours’ notice as a courtesy.

The law office accepts checks, U.S. dollars, certified funds, and all major credit cards and debit cards charged as credit cards. If you are paying by credit card other than in person at the physical location of the office, a credit card authorization will need to be faxed or emailed to you, filled out, and returned before the law office can run the card. If you wish to pay in person, you can arrange to come by the office during normal business hours. You can also mail a payment to the office address.

If the credit card is from a country other than the United States of America or does not primarily use U.S. currency, your credit card provider may charge you for currency exchange to U.S. dollars. Sayyar Law is not responsible for such charges and you are instructed to check with your own credit card company before making such a transaction.

If a credit card is denied or a check bounces, you will still be required to pay for services rendered under the terms of any retainer fee agreement. If a credit card is denied or a check bounces when paying for an initial consultation, the consultation will not begin unless and until payment is made and may have to be rescheduled if necessary.

The law office generally offers two types of payment arrangements depending on the services requested by the potential client. Please note, that the information below is general in nature and is not a representation or a guarantee that these are the specific terms the attorney will offer a potential client. Each client who retains the attorney will receive a written agreement that sets out more specifically and particularly the exact payment arrangements between the attorney and client. Not all cases or legal matters can be paid by one or the other payment arrangements. More specialized types of payment arrangements (hybrid or contingency) are made on a case-by-case basis only at the attorney’s absolute discretion.

First, the law office offers Flat Fees for certain unbundled services. This is a payment arrangement where the potential client requires limited services such as drafting a contract, sending a demand letter, obtaining a “second legal opinion” on a matter of law, reviewing a lease, or forming a corporate entity for example. For these services rather than charging by the hour, the attorney and potential client will agree to a fixed price for the service which is nonrefundable once substantial work has begun and will have a limited scope of representation. The flat fee price will generally cover all attorney-client communication and work as specifically agreed in writing. Some flat fee unbundled services will include hard costs or related filing fees or vendor costs, some will not. It will depend on the written agreement reached between the attorney and the client. The attorney will not perform any services outside the flat fee unbundled service agreement without written agreement from the client. Flat Fee rates vary depending on the size of the job and are tailor-made on a case-by-case basis depending on the complexity of the work involved. Some illustrative examples of potential (but not guaranteed flat fee rates) are as follows: demand letter $750.00, document review and analysis $500.00 to $750.00+, simple contract drafting $1,000.00 to $3,000.00+. Actual flat fee rates will be at the attorney's discretion.

Second, the law office offers Hourly Billing with an Evergreen Retainer. This is a payment arrangement where the potential client pays a retainer up front to the law office. Retainers are kept in a trust account by the law office and the attorney bills against that amount at a set hourly rate. Hard costs are also charged against the retainer. The client will receive a monthly retainer detailing not only what work has been performed but also how much of the retainer has been unitized and how much remains. Once the retainer is exhausted it must be replenished for the attorney to continue to work on the case. While the attorney will attempt to give as much notice as possible before requesting a replenishment of the retainer, it is not always possible given the unpredictability of lawsuits.

Absent special written arrangements, Sayyar Law charges hourly rates of $500.00 per hour. For corporate clients with numerous legal matters, reduced hourly rates can be negotiated. Paralegals also bill for legal services as well at an hourly rate. Absent special written arrangements, the initial Evergreen Retainer depends on the nature of the case but is $5,000.00-$10,000.00 generally, if not higher depending on the immediate legal work necessary to be performed in any new case. If a matter can be resolved without exhausting the initial or subsequent retainer amounts, the remainder will be released back to the client. Generally speaking, all litigation cases, arbitration cases, contract negotiations, and lengthy to-be-negotiated manuscript legal contracts or documents are Hourly Billing matters with an Evergreen Retainer.

Generally for most business, collection, and real estate matters, the law office and attorney do NOT take contingent cases. Please contact the Nevada State Bar or California State Bar referral service through the link found in the Resources section to locate an attorney who offers such payment arrangements.

Hard costs in general are costs associated with litigation or a transactional legal matter. They may include but are not limited to, court filing fees, expert witness fees, recording fees charged by governmental or administrative agencies, secretary of state filing fees, court reporter fees, witness fees, license fees, and/or outsourced copying or printing fees. Each written agreement between the client and attorney will specify what hard costs are or are not covered. Generally, however, hard costs will be charged to the client and certain more expensive hard costs such as expert witness fees or court reporter charges must be prepaid by the client before being incurred by the law office.

Not necessarily. Generally speaking, even if you win in your lawsuit or resolve a dispute in settlement you are not automatically entitled to recover your attorney fees and costs. Absent a statutory provision allowing recovery under the state law in question that applies to your case, you are not entitled to request let alone recover attorney fees and costs. Most states have very limited instances where you can even ask for fees and/or costs. Even if you are entitled to request attorney fees and costs, there is no guarantee the court will award all fees and costs sought nor is there any guarantee you will be able to collect any award of fees and costs. Even if you have a chance to request and recover attorney’s fees you are still responsible for paying the law office for all legal services pursuant to the terms of the written agreement you have with the attorney.

Several essential steps can and should be taken by any person or entity that has a legal issue or dispute pending or active, regardless of the nature of the case or transactional matter. There are also several general warnings and cautions a person or entity who is involved in a legal dispute must be aware of to better protect their interests. Please review the Resources section of this website for a detailed list of such actions. Please note, this section does not provide legal advice and the information it provides is of an extremely general nature. Your case or legal issue may require more detailed or contrary legal advice from a licensed professional.

Where you can be sued or where you can sue someone or some other entity depends on several factors. It can depend on the type of case and claims, where the physical acts or in-actions that give rise to the claims occurred, where the real property that may be related to the case is located, the residence and legal domicile of the persons or entities involved, the principal place of business involved if any, and whether anyone has contractually agreed to be sued in a particular state or county. These are just some of the considerations a court reviews in determining whether you can or cannot be sued in a particular geographic location.

While you may be limited to where you can sue someone by the factors set forth above, where you should sue someone is also a consideration if you can bring suit in several different counties or states. Generally, the attorney will discuss with you prior to the onset of the case what options of venue are possible legally and whether there is a benefit strategically of a geographic location, a particular court (state versus federal court), and whether there is a cost-benefit in choosing to bring suit and a particular place.

It depends on the type of case, the claims involved, and the number of parties involved among other factors. Dollar amounts involved can determine what court your case may be limited to. The larger the case in terms of value, generally means the longer the case will be fought over. Certain types of claims can be fast-tracked or have to participate in court-annexed arbitration or mediation which usually means a speedier outcome. If an appeal is involved, the case can take even longer. Generally in a disputed matter where both sides participate, a year or more of litigation is not uncommon; the process may take many more years to be fully concluded. Collection activity post-trial or judgment can also take significant amounts of time. The court docket, court resources itself, and the availability of the judge’s calendars can also delay the trial or hearing of a case for months. Bringing a lawsuit is not generally a quick or easy process and can be very time-consuming and costly. This is why Sayyar Law will discuss all possible options with her clients and potential clients before advising the initiation of a lawsuit.

With regard to a transactional matter, it depends on the nature of the document to be drafted, negotiated, or reviewed and how much attorney time will be necessary. If a matter is time-sensitive, please advise the law office of this fact when making your initial consultation.

Each court in each state will have its own process and procedural rules that will set the timing of events to occur in a lawsuit. At the time of your initial consultation or prior to initiating a lawsuit, Sayyar Law will review with you the expected timeline of events which can be extensive and drawn out over months if not years depending on how the case progresses. Lawsuits are not static things, they change as the other side files motions or takes action and as the court makes rulings. It is not possible to predict with certainty any outcome. Sayyar Law will use her skills and experience to anticipate potential outcomes likely to happen and advise you of the risks and benefits of the decisions to be made in any litigation, but her legal opinions are not warranties or guarantees of any particular outcome. At every stage of your representation, Sayyar Law will endeavor to keep you apprised of forthcoming deadlines, procedural timelines, and expectations so that together you can navigate the civil procedure of your case.

We do not and cannot guarantee a particular outcome or result. In litigation, the attorney can provide you with her legal opinion and strategize as to the likely outcomes of any event based on the data she has and the experience she has, but cannot guarantee a victory or a particular ruling from a judge or arbitrator. The attorney cannot and does not guarantee that you will prevail in your case. The attorney cannot and does not guarantee that even if you win your case you can collect on any judgment you may receive. In transactional matters, based on the information available and provided, the attorney can and will plan for and take into account risks and possible negative outcomes but cannot and does not guarantee that any legal document drafted, reviewed, or negotiated is “iron clad” or otherwise impervious to legal challenge.