 Choosing a Divorce Lawyer
Author: 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.
About the Author
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 see his website: http://www.houstondivorce.com
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