Every divorce is unique with its own circumstances. Finding the right family law attorney that can tackle with your case is important. The right lawyer will streamline the process and ensure that the case is settled favorably by involving the least expenses possible. On the other hand, the wrong lawyer can create havoc and cause your case to be more complicated in the end. The following are 5 tips on selecting a good family law attorney.
1. Identify Your Needs
When you are hiring a family law attorney, you will always think of wanting to hire someone who is skilled and experienced to handle your divorce case. First of all, you must know that there are many types of family law lawyers with different specializations. So, you’ll need to ask yourself why you want to hire an attorney. Is your spouse abusing you and making you feel weak to fight back for your rights? Do you only need advice from a lawyer but want to file the divorce case yourself? Are you looking for a lawyer that can handle all stages of the divorce case? Are you able to agree with your spouse on major issues?
2. Narrow Down a List of Prospective Attorneys
Once you’ve figured this out, you can start searching for a suitable family law attorney. You can contact your local bar association and ask them to provide a list of lawyers that meet your requirements. When you have the referrals, you can visit the prospective attorney’s websites and read about their biographies. Some lawyers will use a nickname like bulldog as a way of expressing that he is an aggressive litigator. Aggressive lawyer is more expensive as they have to spend time in the court room.
3. Interviewing Attorneys in Initial Consultations
When you have a few attorneys on your list, you can start to call each of them and ask if they have time for a consultation. Not every lawyer will offer free consultations so be sure to ask about it first. You will have to bring relevant paperwork to the initial consultation in order to receive an evaluation on your divorce case.
4. Ask Lots of Questions
In the consultation, don’t just keep quiet and let the lawyer do all the talking. Instead, be bold and ask as many questions as you want concerning the handling of your divorce case. You can ask the lawyer to tell you about his background and how many years he has been taking on family law cases. Besides, you can ask him on his opinion on the success rate of your divorce case and how he would approach a case like yours.
5. Find Out about the Fees
In addition, don’t forget to ask about the expenses and have them recorded down in your notebook for comparison afterward. There are various expenses that you pay to a family law attorney such as filing paperwork, traveling, representation in court room, uncovering facts in a mystery divorce case, and etc. If the lawyer charges on contingency basis, you can ask about the retainer fee. If the lawyer does not work on contingency basis, you can ask him whether he charges a flat rate or hourly rate.
