Call · Phone or video · In person
How a visit with me works, from the first call to the meeting
You call or send a visit request, and we talk first by phone or video. After that I can come to you and meet in person, at your home or another place you choose. Whether we work together is decided at that meeting. Nothing starts until you reach out to me.
Every visit follows the same order, and you can stop at any point along the way.
It covers the four steps, phone against video, what to bring, crash reports, what follows the meeting, hospital visits and Spanish.
01
Four steps from your first call to an in-person meeting
A visit with me runs in four steps, and the first step belongs to you. Nothing starts until you call the office at 336-221-8900 or send a visit request.
You call or send a visit request
You or a family member contacts the office with a name and a good way to reach you.
A phone or video conversation
You tell me what happened and ask what you want to ask. Before we hang up we set a time and a place to meet.
An in-person meeting where you are
I can come to you, at your home or another place you choose.
The decision, made at that meeting
Whether we work together is decided in person and not on the phone. You can take time to think it over.
The attorney you talk with on the first call is the attorney who comes to meet you. The order is the same in every county this site serves.
02
Why the first call comes from you, under Rule 7.3
Rule 7.3(b) of the North Carolina Rules of Professional Conduct bars an attorney from seeking work through live person-to-person contact when a significant motive is the attorney's own financial gain. Comment 2 to the rule defines that contact as in-person, face-to-face, live telephone and other real-time visual or auditory communications.
Every visit described here starts with your call or your visit request, and the phone or video conversation and the in-person meeting come after it.
Exception. Rule 7.3(b) does not reach contact with another attorney, with a person who has a family, close personal, or prior business or professional relationship with the attorney, or with a person who routinely uses that type of legal service for business. I still wait for you or your family to reach out.
03
Phone or video for the first conversation, and what each suits
The first conversation with me happens by phone or by video, and you choose which one. The visit request form asks which you prefer, and either one leads to the same in-person meeting.
Phone, when a camera is one more thing to manage
A phone call needs only a phone and a quiet few minutes. It suits someone who is still recovering and would rather not sit in front of a screen.
Video, when you want to see who you are talking to
A video call lets you see my face before you decide whether to meet. I think a conversation is easier to judge when you can see the other person.
Nothing said on that first call commits you to anything. It is a conversation and not an agreement.
04
What do I bring to the first meeting with an attorney?
Five kinds of paper and information help me understand a crash at the first in-person meeting. This is general information, not advice about what to do with a claim.
| What to bring | What it shows me |
|---|---|
| The name and driver license number of a driver in the crash, with the date and county of the crash | The details NCDMV form TR-67A asks for to request the crash report |
| Letters or emails from any insurance company, including your own | What each company has said to you so far, in its own words |
| Photos of the scene, the vehicles or your injuries | What the crash looked like before anything was repaired or healed |
| Medical bills and hospital discharge papers | Where you have been treated since the crash |
| Names and phone numbers of anyone who saw the crash | Who else can say what happened |
Nothing on this list is required to make the first call or to set up the meeting. Bring what you have and leave the rest for later.
05
How do I get a copy of my North Carolina crash report?
The North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles provides crash reports by mail and in person to a person who was in the crash. Individuals cannot order a crash report online, according to the NCDMV.
A person involved in the crash receives a redacted report from the NCDMV, which means personal details such as names and addresses are hidden. The request form is NCDMV form TR-67A, which is not fillable and has to be printed. The form asks for the name of the driver, the date of the crash, the county of the crash and a driver license number.
| Method | Who can use it | How the NCDMV handles it |
|---|---|---|
| By mail | Individuals and businesses | Mail form TR-67A with payment to the address on the form. A check or money order is made payable to NCDMV and signed. The NCDMV asks you to allow 10 business days from receipt. |
| In person | Individuals and businesses | Bring form TR-67A and payment to the Raleigh Central Services/License Plate Agency at 4121 New Bern Ave. in Raleigh, through the door marked Vehicle Registration, or to the Huntersville License Plate Agency at 12101 Mt. Holly-Huntersville Road. Requests for five records or fewer are provided immediately. |
| Online | Businesses based in or licensed in North Carolina | Not available to individuals. |
Exception. A business or organization based in or licensed in North Carolina, such as an attorney's office, can request an unredacted crash report from the NCDMV when the request meets a permissible use under the federal Drivers Privacy Protection Act, 18 U.S.C. 2721 to 2725. A request without a permissible use receives the redacted version.
You do not need a crash report in hand to call me or to set up the meeting.
06
After the in-person meeting, and the deadlines North Carolina sets
The in-person meeting ends with a decision about working together, or with time for you to make one. If you want time to think after the meeting, take it. If you decide to go forward, we start the work from there. If you decide not to, you are free to talk with any other attorney you choose.
Three years under G.S. 1-52(5), two years under G.S. 1-53(4)
North Carolina allows three years to bring an action for injury to the person that does not arise on a contract, under G.S. 1-52(5). A wrongful death claim has its own two-year period under G.S. 1-53(4), and that cause of action does not accrue until the date of death.
Exception. Under G.S. 1-52(16), unless another law provides otherwise, a personal injury claim does not accrue until bodily harm to the claimant becomes apparent or ought reasonably to have become apparent.
07
Hospital visits happen only after you or your family call
I can come to a hospital to meet an injured person only after that person or their family has reached out to me first. I do not visit a hospital unless the injured person or their family asked me to come.
The order stays the same in a hospital. A family member can make the first call, we talk by phone or video, and then I can come to meet the injured person where they are.
A hospital that takes part in Medicare has to keep written policies on patient visitation rights under 42 CFR 482.13(h), including any clinically necessary or reasonable restriction it places on visits. The same paragraph gives the patient the right, subject to the patient's consent, to receive the visitors he or she designates.
08
Lorena Meza, the office's Spanish-language contact
Lorena Meza is a paralegal who works with me and speaks Spanish, and she is the Spanish-language contact for the office. A caller who would rather talk in Spanish can call 336-221-8900 and ask for Lorena.
The visit request form also has a language choice for Español.
Si prefiere hablar en español, Lorena Meza puede ayudarle. Ella es paralegal en nuestra oficina y habla español. Llame al 336-221-8900 y pida hablar con Lorena.
Questions
Common questions
Does sending the visit request make you my attorney?
Sending the visit request does not make me your attorney. Calling the office or sending the form does not create an attorney-client relationship. That begins only if we both agree to work together after we meet in person. Keep confidential details out of the form and tell me on the call instead.
What if I already talked with an insurance adjuster?
Talking with an insurance adjuster before you call me does not stop you from calling. Tell me on the first call what was said and when. Bring any letters or emails from the adjuster to our meeting so I can read exactly what was sent to you.
Can I meet you at the Graham office instead?
You can meet me at my office at 110 W. Elm Street in Graham if that is easier for you. The order stays the same, with a phone or video conversation first and the in-person meeting after it.
Can I bring someone with me to the meeting?
Tell me on the first phone or video call who you would like to have with you at the in-person meeting, and we can plan the place from there.
What is decided at the in-person meeting?
Whether we work together is decided at the in-person meeting and not on the phone. The decision stays with you, and you can take time after the meeting to think it over.
About the attorney
Julian Doby, attorney since 1998
Julian Doby has been admitted to practice in North Carolina since 1998, North Carolina State Bar No. 25407, and he represents injured people across the state. His one office is at 110 W. Elm Street in Graham. He meets clients across the state after a first conversation by phone or video.
More about JulianSources and verification (7)
- N.C. Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 7.3(b) and comment [2], ncbar.gov, verified October 18, 2026.
- NCDMV form TR-67A, crash report request, verified October 18, 2026.
- NCDMV, Crash Reports, verified October 18, 2026.
- N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-52(5) and (16), ncleg.gov, verified October 18, 2026.
- N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-53(4), ncleg.gov, verified October 18, 2026.
- 42 CFR 482.13(h), Patient visitation rights, eCFR (up to date as of 10/15/2026), verified October 18, 2026.
- 42 CFR 482.1(a), Basis and scope of the hospital conditions of participation, eCFR, verified October 18, 2026.
Talk first. Then I can come to you.
Call or send a visit request. We start by phone or video.