What this consultation checklist can—and cannot—help you do
An employment law consultation is more useful when you can give a clear, organized account of what happened, what records are available, and what decision you need to make next. This checklist is designed to help Austin workplace decision-makers prepare that account.
It is not a way to decide whether you have a legal claim, whether an employer acted unlawfully, or what result may follow. Workplace disputes turn on details, applicable law, available evidence, employer practices, and procedural considerations. A well-prepared packet helps a lawyer identify missing facts and better frame questions; it does not prove a claim.
Before an engagement, information provided by the firm is general only and does not establish an attorney-client relationship. Intake alone also does not establish a claim, representation, or a likely outcome.
The practical goal is modest but important: arrive ready to discuss facts rather than reconstruct them under pressure. Keep your account accurate, distinguish what you know from what you infer, and flag anything time-sensitive for prompt, jurisdiction-specific review.
Start with a six-part consultation packet
Create one folder—paper or digital—with six labeled parts. Do not try to write a legal brief. Build a factual working packet that another person can review efficiently.
- Dated timeline: the sequence of relevant workplace events.
- People involved: names, roles, and each person’s connection to an event.
- Available original materials: communications, records, policies, and other items you may lawfully access.
- Records versus recollection: what a document or message shows versus what you remember.
- Immediate decisions or timing concerns: anything pending at work or any concern that may require prompt advice.
- Consultation questions: the process, missing information, and what decision to make after the meeting.
According to the firm’s intake practice, the packet is used to identify missing facts and possible next questions. Its purpose is organization, not a legal diagnosis. If one category is thin or unavailable, say so. A visible gap is more useful than an assumption presented as fact.
Use consistent file names and a simple index. For example, label a document with its date, general subject, and related timeline entry. Keep a short list of questions that arise while organizing the packet; those questions may be more useful than additional narrative.
Checklist item 1: Create a dated timeline of what happened
Start with the event that made you consider a consultation, then work backward and forward. Use the most accurate date you can identify. If you do not know an exact date, label it as an estimate—for example, “approximately mid-May” or “the week after the performance review.” Do not silently convert an estimate into certainty.
For each entry, use a consistent format:
- Date and time: exact, approximate, or unknown.
- What occurred: a short factual description.
- Who was involved: names, job titles or roles, and any witnesses.
- How it occurred: meeting, call, email, text, scheduling system, written notice, or other setting.
- Related material: the filename, email subject line, screenshot, policy, or note that corresponds to the event.
- What happened next: a report, response, schedule change, discipline, request, or other follow-up.
A timeline might say: “June 4: Supervisor told me in a meeting that my schedule would change. Present: supervisor and me. Follow-up email sent June 5.” It should not say: “Supervisor illegally retaliated against me,” unless you are clearly recording that as your concern or interpretation rather than as an established fact.
Include relevant earlier context: hire date, role changes, performance feedback, leave requests, accommodations requested, complaints or reports, policy acknowledgments, and major changes in duties, pay, schedule, discipline, or employment status. Include internal reporting as its own timeline entry: whom you contacted, what you reported, how you reported it, whether you received a response, and what you know happened afterward.
Austin Workplace Counsel asks prospective clients to prepare a dated event timeline and identify the people involved. In the firm’s intake process, date order helps distinguish the sequence of events from later interpretation. That distinction matters. Your memory and your reaction are relevant to explain, but labeling them accurately allows the consultation to focus on what can be confirmed, clarified, or investigated further.
Do not omit events because they seem unfavorable or embarrassing. Note uncertainty plainly, including conflicting dates or incomplete recollections. A lawyer can help determine which facts matter; a selective timeline makes that review harder.
Checklist item 2: Organize available original records and messages
Gather materials that are already lawfully available to you and appear connected to the timeline. Useful categories can include offer letters, job descriptions, handbooks or policies, performance reviews, written warnings, schedules, pay records, benefits communications, leave-related correspondence, meeting invitations, emails, texts, letters, and notes made at the time of an event. A record does not need to resolve the dispute to be worth organizing.
Original materials can preserve wording and surrounding context available for review. Avoid editing, cropping, relabeling, or combining materials in a way that obscures what they originally showed. If you make notes about an item, put those notes in a separate document.
Create a simple index: item name, date, source, related timeline entry, and one-line description. Texas Workforce Commission employment-law guidance notes that email is widely used by employees and businesses and that sexual, racial, and other harassment can occur by email. That is a reason to preserve relevant communications carefully, not a conclusion about what any particular message establishes.
Separate direct records from recollection. Direct records include the actual email, notice, calendar invitation, photograph, or contemporaneous note. Recollection is your account of a conversation or event for which no record is presently available. Both may be useful to discuss, but they should not be treated as identical. TexasLawHelp explains that evidence can include documents, spoken words, and physical things, and that courts require specific steps concerning evidence and its accuracy. This consultation checklist is not instruction on admissibility or litigation evidence rules.
Be especially careful with employer-controlled systems and information. Preserve only materials you are lawfully allowed to access, and do not alter originals. Employer-controlled systems and communications may be subject to workplace policies.
Checklist item 3: Write a factual summary of the concern, reporting, and immediate goal
Write a one-page summary after you finish the timeline. Lead with the practical issue, not a legal label. A useful structure is:
- What workplace action or conduct concerns you?
- Who was involved?
- When did it occur?
- What did you do or report afterward?
- What response, if any, did you receive?
- What immediate decision, information, or next step do you want to discuss?
Use precise language. “I was denied a promotion on July 10 after reporting concerns to HR on June 20” is more useful than “I was treated unfairly.” You can explain why you believe events are connected, but distinguish that belief from the underlying events and records.
For general Texas context, the Texas Workforce Commission states that employment discrimination generally exists where an applicant or employee is treated less favorably merely because of a protected characteristic—including treatment because of race, color, religion, sex, age over 40, national origin, or disability. It lists hiring, firing, promotions, harassment, training, wages, and benefits among work situations to which discrimination applies. Those statements do not determine whether a particular workplace situation meets a legal standard.
The Commission also says that, to process a discrimination complaint, it requires the identities of the parties, a description of the specific employment action or conduct, and a causal connection to a protected characteristic. That is a useful model for organizing factual information when discrimination is a concern. It is not a direction to file a complaint or a statement that every concern belongs in that process.
State your goal separately from your theory. You may want to understand a workplace notice, respond to an investigation, preserve options, assess whether consultation is appropriate, or decide what to say next. Naming that goal helps keep the meeting practical without requiring you to characterize the law in advance.
Checklist item 4: Flag any immediate workplace decision or timing concern
Put a short “urgent items” note at the front of the packet. List any pending workplace decision or timing concern, such as a meeting, response request, performance plan, leave-related issue, separation document, schedule change, investigation interview, or other event that may require a decision. Include the date you learned of it and the date by which you believe action is requested, if known.
Do not assume that a workplace deadline is legally controlling, or that no other timing issue exists because an employer has not given you a date. Employment-law timing and filing requirements can depend on the facts, jurisdiction, and type of concern. Seek jurisdiction-specific advice before any stated deadline or workplace action passes.
In its consultation process, identifying it helps prioritize what must be discussed first. Bring the document or message that created the concern, along with your timeline entry, rather than relying only on a description.
If you have already responded, record what you sent and when. If you have not responded, do not treat this checklist as permission to ignore a workplace instruction or make a rushed legal conclusion. Put the question at the top of the consultation list and explain the practical constraints.
Checklist item 5: Bring questions about process, next steps, and potential representation
A consultation is not only a chance to tell your story. It is also a chance to understand what information is missing and what decision you should make next. Prepare your questions in advance and leave room to write down the answers.
Consider asking:
- Based on the facts discussed, what should I clarify or document next?
- What is the next decision I need to make after this consultation?
- Are there materials I should locate, preserve, or describe more clearly?
- What questions should I ask before responding to a workplace request or attending a meeting?
- How would communication work if future work were proposed?
- Who would handle any future work?
- What scope of work, if any, might be proposed?
- How would fees be discussed?
- What should I understand about the difference between a consultation, an engagement, and representation?
Austin Workplace Counsel asks prospective clients to prepare questions about the next decision after the consultation, future work responsibility, communication, documents still needed, proposed scope, and fees. It helps you evaluate whether you have enough information to make an informed next decision.
Also ask what the consultation will and will not cover, what additional facts would change the discussion, and whether any issue should be raised promptly. Do not assume that a general answer resolves your individual situation. Note the answer, the assumptions behind it, and any follow-up information requested.
Frequently asked questions about preparing for an employment law consultation
How detailed should my timeline be?
Keep it factual and chronological. Include dates or best estimates, what happened, who was involved, how it happened, and what happened next. If you are unsure about a date, say so rather than guessing.
What documents are most useful to organize before the meeting?
Focus on materials that connect to the timeline, such as emails, texts, offer letters, handbooks, performance reviews, schedules, pay records, written warnings, and notes made at the time.
Should I separate facts from what I think the facts mean?
Yes. Separate direct records from your recollection and keep your interpretation distinct from what a document or message actually shows. That makes it easier to spot gaps and discuss the facts clearly.
What if I think there is a deadline or urgent workplace decision?
Flag it at the front of your packet and bring the document or message that created the concern. Do not assume a workplace deadline is legally controlling, and seek prompt jurisdiction-specific advice when timing may matter.
If my concern involves discrimination, what information should I be ready to explain?
Be ready to identify the parties involved, the specific workplace action or conduct, and the protected characteristic you believe is connected to it. Also explain any internal report you made and the response you received, if any.
Organize the packet before you take the next step
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