Mistakes People Make Before Calling A Lawyer
A few avoidable mistakes can quietly close off options before you even speak to a lawyer.
What Mistakes Do People Make Before Calling A Lawyer
The most common mistake is waiting too long, whether to see if things resolve on their own or simply out of uncertainty about what to do. The 60-day filing window keeps running the entire time1.
Signing a settlement or release document before getting any advice is another costly mistake. A quick review before signing takes little time compared with the risk of giving up options you did not fully understand.
Mistakes Based On Wrong Assumptions
Assuming a lawyer can attend and speak for you at conciliation is a common misunderstanding, since solicitors are not permitted to represent parties at that stage2. Planning around this assumption can leave you unprepared for what conciliation actually involves.
Skipping even a short initial conversation, out of a sense that the situation is too small or too complicated, means missing a chance to catch gaps early.
A Mistake Worth Naming Separately
Discussing your dismissal only with friends or family, however well meaning, is not the same as getting an informed read on your legal position. Their advice may be kind but is rarely grounded in how the Industrial Relations Act actually works.
A short conversation with someone who deals with these cases regularly tends to surface things that general advice, however sincere, usually misses entirely.
What To Do Instead
Check your deadline now on the 60-day deadline calculator, regardless of how confident you feel. The employment lawyer entity page explains what a lawyer actually does and does not do at each stage.
The guides on mistakes to avoid when filing a claim and mistakes to avoid at the Industrial Court cover the stages that follow.
A short conversation early on can catch mistakes before they cost you options later.
If you want to avoid the common mistakes people make before speaking to a lawyer, reaching out early costs little and clarifies a lot.
Common questions
Is waiting too long before reaching out a mistake
Yes. The 60-day filing window keeps running while you wait, so contacting a lawyer sooner rather than later tends to leave more options open.
Is signing a settlement before advice a mistake
Often, yes. A settlement can close off your right to claim, so a quick review before signing is worth the small delay it takes.
Is assuming a lawyer can attend conciliation a mistake
Yes, a common one. Solicitors cannot represent you at that stage, so planning around a lawyer speaking for you there is based on a false assumption.
Is trying to handle everything alone without ever asking a mistake
Not necessarily, but skipping even a short initial conversation means missing a chance to catch gaps in your case early, when they are easiest to fix.
Sources
- An employee who considers they were dismissed without just cause or excuse may make a written representation to the Director General of Industrial Relations within 60 days of the dismissal Mah Weng Kwai & Associates
- Solicitors are not permitted to represent parties at conciliation before the Department of Industrial Relations; an employee attends and speaks for themselves Mah Weng Kwai & Associates
Keep reading
If you want to avoid the common mistakes people make before speaking to a lawyer, reaching out early costs little and clarifies a lot.