You have to select an efficient divorce attorney to work on your divorce process. If you choose a good lawyer, he will help you breeze through the process. If you do not choose a right one, you will spend almost the rest of your life making up for losses that might have been prevented.
Firstly identify the type of your case. Will you be involved with mediating your divorce? Will you be negotiating or will you go to court on divorce litigation? Decide and then proceed to choose the type of attorney to deal with your type of case.
You will be able to collect a lot of information by talking to your friends or others who had gone through a divorce before. You can ask them about the type of case they had dealt with, the names of attorneys who represented them, the length of the process, the amount paid towards attorney fees and the efficiency of their attorneys, etc.
Internet is very helpful in this regard. A number of divorce attorneys have their own websites where they give information about their specialty, fees, etc. some attorneys also have written articles about divorce-related matters. After doing this initial homework, you could make a list of three or four attorney’s names and contact details. With a list of attorneys’ names you may get confused in selecting the right one. Have some criteria in helping you to choose a proper lawyer:
- Look for the attorney’s expertise and experience - Make sure your divorce lawyer is a highly experienced one. He should be primarily a divorce lawyer, familiar with divorce cases in your location. This is important because divorce laws differ from state to state.
- Check out the testimonials or references - Inexperienced lawyers could easily make matters worse for you. To avoid extra problems it is better to get some testimonials and then choose your lawyer.
- Ensure your lawyer’s accessibility and availability - Communication between a lawyer and his client is the utmost factor that helps them deal with the case. It is therefore important that your lawyer promptly responds to your phone calls, emails, official meetings, etc. You do not want to add to more stress by his unavailability.
- Find out about lawyer fees - You should know your legal expenses before you go ahead with the case. At the time of fixing up an appointment you could find out about a consultation fee; while some attorneys brief initial consultations for free, there are other highly experienced divorce lawyers who may charge between $100.00 and $300.00 as a consultation fee or may charge their normal hourly rate.
- Discuss the amount and the mode of payment during your initial consultation. Experience lawyers may require you to pay a substantial retainer fee up front based on the lawyer’s hourly rate and other expenses. You need to get the details of the lawyer’s hourly rate, up front payment, etc. You may also find out whether unused funds or remainder of the retainer fee is refundable.
- Your level of comfort in communicating with the lawyer - You need to feel comfortable in talking to your lawyer about the case and the related issues. If you don’t feel confident or comfortable, it is better to look for some other lawyer in this field.
