FOIA Lawsuit — Paid Consultation on Suing a Federal Agency for Records
A paid consultation with Sherrod Seward, Esq. on whether to sue, where to sue, and what a FOIA case actually involves.
A FOIA case is not a normal lawsuit. There is rarely a trial and rarely discovery; it is usually decided on written motions about whether the agency's search was adequate and whether its withholdings hold up, with the burden on the agency. You will leave the call knowing whether your matter is ready to be filed, which forum is right, what the realistic sequence and timeline look like, and how attorney's fees work.
Prefer to speak to someone first? +1 (202) 999-3631
Request the consultation
Six fields. About a minute.
Bring the call one of these
- The agency has gone past its deadline and nothing you send moves it.
- Your appeal was denied and the records still have not come.
- You need the records for a proceeding that is already scheduled.
- You are already a pro se plaintiff and you want counsel to take it over.
- You want to know what a case would cost before you commit to one.
Where a FOIA case gets filed, and why the District of Columbia comes up
FOIA lets a requester sue in the district where they reside, where they have their principal place of business, where the records are situated, or in the District of Columbia. That last option is available in every FOIA case, which is why so many of them are filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia — the court sees a very large volume of them and the D.C. Circuit has produced most of the governing law. Whether the District of Columbia is the right choice for your matter, as opposed to merely an available one, is a strategic question and part of what the call decides.
This office has been the plaintiff, not only the drafter
Law Offices of Sherrod Seward, PLLC v. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
No. 3:25-cv-00057 (W.D.N.C.), filed January 2025
This office has been the plaintiff in a Freedom of Information Act case, not only the drafter of the request. When an agency declined to produce records, the firm filed suit in its own name under 5 U.S.C. 552 to compel production.
A pending matter is described here as a fact about this office's own experience. It is not a result, it does not predict anything about any other case, and every case is decided on its own record. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
How it runs
- Send the enquiryThe form below. Six fields, about a minute.
- Pay the consultation fee$500, on the firm's secure payment page. Credited in full against the fee for the engagement if this office is engaged on the matter.
- The consultationThe call itself. Bring the request, the response letter and the envelope — deadlines run from what the paper says.
- A written summaryWhat was decided, what the next step is, and the date it has to happen by.
Watch first
Questions people actually ask
What do I actually get for the fee?
The $500 is the fee for the consultation itself and for the written summary that follows it. It is not a retainer, and it does not include drafting or filing a FOIA request, an administrative appeal, a licence application, a delisting petition, a federal court complaint, a trademark application, a response to a USPTO office action, or a post-registration maintenance filing - each of those is separately scoped and separately quoted. Government, agency and court filing fees, any agency search, review or duplication fees, and any USPTO filing fees, are not included and are payable to the government, not to this office.
Is this legal advice?
The consultation is. This page is not — it is general information about federal practice, and reading it creates no relationship with this office. Sending this form does not create an attorney-client relationship. No attorney-client relationship is formed until this office and you have signed a written engagement agreement.
Can you tell me what my chances are?
You will get a candid assessment of what your record supports and where it is thin, which is the useful version of that question. What you will not get is a percentage. Every matter is decided on its own record by a government officer or a judge, and prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
What happens if you cannot help?
You will be told so on the call, and told where the matter actually belongs. That happens often enough to be worth saying out loud.
Do I have to pay the lawyer if I win?
FOIA contains a fee-shifting provision: a court may assess reasonable attorney fees and litigation costs against the United States where the complainant has substantially prevailed. It is discretionary, not automatic, and how it would apply to your matter is one of the things the call assesses honestly rather than optimistically.
I filed it myself. Can someone take it over?
This is a common posture and a legitimate one. A pro se requester who has already filed in the district court, and now wants counsel for the summary-judgment stage, is asking a specific and answerable question. Bring the docket number and the operative filings to the call.