Love Society

By: Cindy Hide

If you have arrived at the threshold of divorce, or, if you have been unwillingly served with an invitation to domestic court by your spouse, you will quickly be faced with the decision of how to select a divorce attorney. Knowledge and experience are your keys to an equitable outcome.

To find attorneys who are qualified in family law, you may wish to consult with friends or contact the lawyer referral service of the nearest local bar association in your city. Most state bar associations also have referral services as well as a list of board-certified family law practitioners in your area.

It is wise to interview several attorneys before deciding who will represent you. It is also a good idea to find someone who practices in the county where you will file since local rules and procedures vary from courtroom to courtroom.

A personal referral is very helpful because your case will likely be handled in a similar fashion. Consider asking:

1. Was your attorney knowledgeable?

2. Were you kept informed of proceedings?
3. Was your attorney available to discuss your concerns, and did he or she return phone calls promptly?
4. Was your attorney professional and polite?
5. Was the staff courteous and prompt?
6. Were billing policies fair?
7. Do you know what percentage of his/her practice is devoted to family law?

To make the most of your initial visit, be prepared to interview and be interviewed. In order to use your time efficiently, have the facts and circumstances about your life ready to recite. This should include information such as your marriage date, children and date of births, financial information including debt, income of parties, education levels, living arrangements, and any unusual or extraordinary circumstances. You will also want to allow time for a natural flow of conversation that will help you evaluate how well the two of you communicate.

Cindy Hide, BA, JD, is Founder of Divorce Education for Women and author of 7 Steps to Divorcing Wisely: Do I Stay or Do I Leave?: A woman’s guide to pray, pause and ponder… She offers family law legal services, telephone life coaching, seminars, FREE e-tips, a Professional Directory and an on-line Bookstore with instant downloads, videos and jewelry to empower women in relationship transition. Visit http://www.DivorceEducationForWomen.com or call 713.599.0065.

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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.

Scott Morgan is a Houston attorney who practices exclusively in the field of divorce and family law. He has practiced family law in Texas since 1994. For more information go to http://www.houstondivorce.com

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