One of the most important decisions that you will make in your divorce process is selecting the right attorney. Using the streamlined strategies below, you can find the right attorney in just a few hours.
Gather Names from Friends and Professional Acquaintances
Get personal recommendations from friends who have gone through divorce and ask about their experience with their lawyers. You can even gather recommendations from friends of friends. Another option is to ask for referrals from other professionals, such as trust and estate lawyers, financial advisors, and private physicians.
Look for a Good Track Record
Not all attorneys are created equal. Experience not only within family law but also within your county’s court system will be beneficial. You want to ensure that you hire an attorney who is a strong advocate for your rights and has plenty of experience with divorce and family law matters. Check both the attorney’s website for testimonials and third-party sites for reviews. With some research, you can also start to identify which attorneys have experience with cases similar to yours.
Call Potential Attorneys
Make a few phone calls with your list of potential attorneys and have a brief conversation. This will help you determine if it’s going to be worth your time to set up a personal meeting. If it takes a few days for the attorney to call you back, it’s a sure sign that the attorney is unlikely to be promptly responsive if you become a client.
Set Up a Face-to-Face Meeting
If the initial phone conversation goes well, request a face-to-face consultation. Before the meeting, prepare any questions and specific concerns that you might have. This is an opportunity to become better educated on the details of your divorce. Be wary of absolute promises or guarantees by the attorney or if he or she does not give you undivided attention or answer your questions and concerns to your complete satisfaction. Meet with a handful of attorneys and ask them some of the same basic questions. Comparing their answers will help you to make an educated decision as well.
Ready to Make an Educated Choice
After you’ve done your research and have interviewed a handful of divorce attorneys, you should feel ready to make your decision. It’s okay to go with your gut feeling and choose an attorney who is a good fit for you. Divorce is an emotionally charged experience, and it’s important that you feel comfortable sharing the personal details of your life with your divorce attorney.
The process of hiring an attorney can also provide you with answers to a number of your questions pertaining to the divorce and can put you in the right frame of mind to undertake the process.