How to Select a Divorce Attorney

By Staff Writer

One of the most important decisions that you will make if you will be pursuing a Divorce or Separation is your choice of attorney. An attorney’s abilities and experience, reputation in the community, and attitude towards litigation, settlement, and mediation will all impact how your case is handled, what it will cost, and the end result. You should treat attorney selection as seriously as you would research purchasing a new home. Your entire future may depend on it. Too many clients settle on the first attorney they meet, or after receiving only one recommendation, or even just pick an attorney from the yellow pages or an ad. One of most important divorce advice tips is - This decision is too important to be taken lightly.

Word of mouth referrals are very common in the legal profession, in part because most attorneys do not advertise as much as other businesses do. "Word of mouth" is actually a very good way to determine if an attorney might be able to handle your case. If you know people who have been through a Divorce or Separation, ask them who their attorney was and talk to them about their experience.

There are many other ways to find a matrimonial attorney. You can look in the yellow pages, obtain referrals from Bar Association Referral Services, or obtain information online from a number of listing services that attorneys subscribe to. Some online services allow you to ask questions of attorneys on line without retaining them. This is a good way to see how prompt an attorney is when responding to your request.

If you obtain a referral from a person who has been through a Divorce or Separation, you should ask them a lot of questions. Did their attorney return their calls promptly ? Did the Judge appear to respect the attorney? What result did they ask for and what result did they obtain? Was the attorney honest about the potential outcome of the case? Who made important decisions, the attorney or the client? Was the billing fair?

Some issues are more important in selecting an attorney than others. The prompt response to phone calls is at the top of that list. If you have an urgent issue in your Divorce or Separation that needs to be resolved, you need your attorney to return your phone calls promptly. Every attorney will have days or even weeks where they are engaged in trial, on vacation, or so busy that their phone messages get backed up. This does not excuse unreturned phone calls. A well-run family law practice will have office support in place to let you know when you can expect a return call. When an attorney is in trial or otherwise unavailable, he or she should have another attorney in their practice or a member of their staff available to handle urgent issues.

The need to retain an attorney who returns phone calls promptly is an important concern if you are about to go through a Separation or Divorce. The situations that confront clients going through a Divorce or Separation are often very emotional requiring prompt intervention by the attorney. If an attorney does not return your phone calls, there is a high probability that they are also not returning phone calls from your spouse’s attorney or even phone calls from the Court. Unreturned phone calls translate to unaddressed issues, which will have an overall negative effect upon your case. When interviewing attorneys ask them what back up they have in place when they are unavailable. Discuss with them how they work with the other attorneys in their practice. When getting recommendations, ask those who have gone through a Divorce how responsive their attorney was. Did he or she return their calls promptly and did they stay focused on their case throughout the entire process?

There are many other qualities that you want to look for in an attorney who will represent you through one of the most difficult periods of your life. You must be comfortable talking to your attorney and relaying all of the messy details of your family situation. An attorney who belittles you or the decisions that you make is not an attorney who is looking out for your best interests. Some attorneys are so filled with their own sense of self-importance that they are incapable of empathizing with their clients. They often dictate that they will make the decisions for their clients in the Divorce case and spend more time bragging about their successes than listening to their clients’ needs. You are forming a relationship with your attorney. You need to trust him or her and know that they have your interests in mind throughout the entire process.

Some attorneys who have practiced family law for many years are emotionally drained from the battles that they have fought and impatient when confronted with difficult fact situations. A good family law attorney does not lose sight of the importance of the particular case to the client sitting in the chair in their office. The attorney must be able to listen to the client and, if the client is not pursuing a reasonable course of action, provide patient counsel on how the client should proceed. That is not an easy job and not all attorneys are capable of doing it.

There are many attorneys with different styles and different personalities practicing family law. You should speak with several attorneys before you decide who to hire. Prepare a list of questions about your case and about how the attorney handles the cases and ask each attorney the same questions. You may receive very different answers. That does not necessarily mean that some of them are wrong. The law is not an exact science and different attorneys will give you different advice and recommendations on how to handle your case. You must be comfortable with the style and recommendations of the attorney that you retain.