|
Order Free Video Professor
Professional
Background Check
and Investigation
Washington Research Assoc.
How to Select a Divorce
Lawyer
by: Scott Morgan
Selecting a divorce lawyer to handle your
family law case is a very important decision. The following
are a few important criteria to help in finding the right
divorce lawyer.
Experience and Focus
Any divorce lawyer you consider should
have substantial experience in handling divorce cases in
your location. An experienced divorce lawyer will know the
tendencies of the various judges in your jurisdiction and
should be able to use this knowledge to your advantage.
Additionally, that lawyer should practice primarily in the
field of divorce law. Often people will hire a lawyer who
practices primarily in some other area, thinking that any
lawyer will do. However, divorce law is a very specialized
field that requires particular skills and experience in
order to have a likelihood of reaching a successful
conclusion.
Past Client Testimonials
Perhaps the best way to decide which
divorce lawyer to use for your divorce case is to find out
what former clients have to say about that lawyer. While
divorce is never an enjoyable process, some divorce lawyers
have more success at satisfying their clients than others.
If you do not know someone who has been a client of that
particular divorce lawyer, you should consider asking the
lawyer for a list of clients that you can contact who can
describe their experience with the lawyer. While client
confidentiality is important, any good experienced divorce
lawyer should have at least a few former clients who are
willing to vouch for him or her.
Accessible
When a client becomes dissatisfied with a
divorce lawyer, one of the most common complaints is that
they were unable to communicate with the lawyer. It is very
important that your divorce lawyer be accessible and prompt
in responding to your phone calls, emails, and requests for
meetings. While you can ask the divorce lawyer about their
office policy, this is another area where you can best
evaluate the divorce lawyer by hearing what former clients
have to say.
If a former client of the lawyer tells you
that they found it very difficult to contact the attorney,
or that the lawyer either did not return calls or respond to
emails or would take several days to do so, you should
definitely avoid that lawyer. Divorce is an unpleasant and
frustrating process under the best of circumstances. If you
are unable to reach your divorce attorney, or at least
someone on his or her staff, the frustration level can
increase exponentially.
Fees
When you make your initial appointment
with the divorce attorney, you should inquire about a
consultation fee. Some lawyers do brief initial
consultations for free, although most experienced divorce
lawyers will charge between $100.00 and $200.00 as a
consultation fee, or will charge their normal hourly rate.
For example, I charge a flat $100.00
consultation fee with no additional hourly charges,
regardless of the length of the meeting. Essentially, the
consultation fee is to "weed out" those people who are not
serious about the possibility of hiring me. Given that my
normal hourly rate is $200.00/hour and the usual typical
consultation takes about 90 minutes, the charge for my
consultation is significantly discounted. Therefore, you
shouldn't let a consultation fee scare you away from
interviewing a particular lawyer.
During the consultation it is vitally
important that you have a candid discussion with the
prospective divorce lawyer about fees and what you can
expect. Typically, an experienced divorce lawyer will
require the payment of a substantial retainer up front,
against which that lawyer's hourly rate and expenses will be
charged. You should find out what that lawyer's hourly rate
is, what the up front retainer will be, whether any portion
of the retainer is refundable if it is not exhausted, and
how often you can expect to receive invoices that detail
their hourly charges and expenses. You also will want to
know how detailed the invoices are. Once again, this is
another area where you can get excellent information from
those people who have been clients of that divorce lawyer.
Comfortable
While all the above issues are important,
there is one final question you should ask yourself before
hiring a divorce lawyer. Are you comfortable with that
lawyer and are you confident in his or her abilities? If the
answer is anything other than a resounding "yes," you should
keep looking. Your case is too important to entrust to
someone who does not inspire your confidence.
For more information go to
http://www.houstondivorce.com
About The Author
Scott Morgan is a Houston attorney who
practices exclusively in the field of divorce and family
law. For more information go to
http://www.houstondivorce.com.
smorgan@houstondivorce.com
|
