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How to Find a Good Divorce Attorney
This is probably one of the most important decisions that you will have to make during your divorce. Unfortunately, there is no guaranteed way to determine what attorney is right for you. But there are a couple of things you can do to increase the chance that you will get an attorney that will work his/her ass off for you. This step requires just as much research as anything else you do.
With today's divorce statistics, chances are that you have some friends that have gone through a divorce. Ask them about their experiences and whether or not that would recommend their attorney to someone else. But be careful on making your decision based solely on their advice. Obviously, they will be biased. If one buddy's divorce had a good outcome, then they are more likely to give a glowing recommendation. But if your other friend had a bad
With today's divorce statistics, chances are that you have some friends that have gone through a divorce. Ask them about their experiences and whether or not that would recommend their attorney to someone else. But be careful on making your decision based solely on their advice. Obviously, they will be biased. If one buddy's divorce had a good outcome, then they are more likely to give a glowing recommendation. But if your other friend had a bad
outcome, then it would probably be just the opposite. But wouldn't it be interesting to find out that they both had the same attorney! Just remember every case will be different, and you need to find an attorney that fits your situation.
Word of mouth is the best advertising that a divorce attorney can get. If they develop a reputation as being an aggressive, but well respected, attorney that wins cases then word tends to spread quickly. You have probably heard of some good divorce attorneys in the past, but didn't even realize it. Besides at the time, you weren't getting a divorce! But if you check around, I am pretty sure that it won't be that hard to determine which attorneys in your area have that type of reputation. But beware an attorney of this caliber tends to be in high demand, and thus can charge a little more than the guy just getting out of law school.
Ultimately, they only way that you will know which divorce attorney to go with is to present your case to them and find out what they can do for you. Most if not all attorneys offer an initial consultation free of charge. They will try to get a grasp of what is going on, and try to sell themselves as your best option. Don't limit yourself to just one or two consultations, just because a divorce attorney is good at selling himself doesn't make him a great attorney.
There are a couple of benefits to having consulations with several different divorce attorneys. Obviously you will be able to find an attorney who you can afford, and who you feel will best represent your case. But there is an added benefit that you probably didn't even consider. If you have a consultation with an attorney, even if it's free, then legally your wife won't even be able to talk to them because of a conflict of interest. So if you really want to be sneaky, schedule consultation with 5 or more of the best divorce attorneys in your area, even if you already have one picked out. It's one way to guarantee that your wife will not be hiring any of the top attorneys in town.
Now when it comes to dealing with your divorce attorney, that is a whole different ball game and will require special attention in another article.
Now if you are still stuck on where to begin there is an easy way to start right now. A web service known as legalmatch.com specializes in connecting attorneys with potential clients. It's a good service that offers backgrounds on different lawyers or law firms in your area.
Word of mouth is the best advertising that a divorce attorney can get. If they develop a reputation as being an aggressive, but well respected, attorney that wins cases then word tends to spread quickly. You have probably heard of some good divorce attorneys in the past, but didn't even realize it. Besides at the time, you weren't getting a divorce! But if you check around, I am pretty sure that it won't be that hard to determine which attorneys in your area have that type of reputation. But beware an attorney of this caliber tends to be in high demand, and thus can charge a little more than the guy just getting out of law school.
Ultimately, they only way that you will know which divorce attorney to go with is to present your case to them and find out what they can do for you. Most if not all attorneys offer an initial consultation free of charge. They will try to get a grasp of what is going on, and try to sell themselves as your best option. Don't limit yourself to just one or two consultations, just because a divorce attorney is good at selling himself doesn't make him a great attorney.
There are a couple of benefits to having consulations with several different divorce attorneys. Obviously you will be able to find an attorney who you can afford, and who you feel will best represent your case. But there is an added benefit that you probably didn't even consider. If you have a consultation with an attorney, even if it's free, then legally your wife won't even be able to talk to them because of a conflict of interest. So if you really want to be sneaky, schedule consultation with 5 or more of the best divorce attorneys in your area, even if you already have one picked out. It's one way to guarantee that your wife will not be hiring any of the top attorneys in town.
Now when it comes to dealing with your divorce attorney, that is a whole different ball game and will require special attention in another article.
Now if you are still stuck on where to begin there is an easy way to start right now. A web service known as legalmatch.com specializes in connecting attorneys with potential clients. It's a good service that offers backgrounds on different lawyers or law firms in your area.
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