The hiring of an attorney is a difficult decision, made harder by the fact that if you need a family attorney you are going through a difficult time in your life. This guide is meant to help you find the attorney that is best suited to handle your family law case.
1 Consider whether you need an attorney
Many family law cases come about because the parties involved stop communicating. Although a majority of family law cases settle, it normally happens after the parties have spent considerable amounts of money litigating. Stop and try to communicate with the other person and see if you can’t reach an agreement on whatever solution you need.
2 Get referrals from friends and family
Once you determine that you absolutely need an attorney, then talk to your friends and family members and see who they have used and have been satisfied by. Try to get personal referrals of attorneys that have demonstrated success in family law and not your cousin’s hair stylist’s little brother, who you heard is a lawyer. Word of mouth is great because no one recommends attorneys they’ve had bad experiences with.
3 Research your attorney
After you have some referrals, make sure that you look into the attorneys on your list. Makes sure that they specialize in the type of law that you need assistance with. Although many lawyers dabble in more than one practice area, family law is a very specialized area of law which is constantly changing, so you want someone who knows this field well. Look up the attorneys on websites like avvo.com so you can see if they have received client endorsements. These can help you determine whether the attorney is receiving endorsements for cases similar to yours.
4 Meet and interview potential attorneys
Do not feel that you have to retain the first attorney you meet with. Make sure that you feel comfortable with the attorney as you will be spending considerable amounts of money to hire them, and you do not want to have any regrets.
