How To Find And Choose A Family Attorney

At some point in almost every person’s life, they find themselves in need of a lawyer. Sometimes a criminal attorney is needed, other times it’s a employment lawyer, but most often the need is for a experienced and trustworthy family attorney.

The question is: how do you find and choose a family attorney from the hundreds and maybe even thousands of attorneys available in your area?

Here are some helpful tips to get you started on your family attorney search:
 

What Type Of Legal Assistance Do You Need?

There are a number of different types of cases that fall under family law, including divorce, child custody, child support, spousal support, and domestic violence.

Before you begin searching for a family attorney, be sure to know what kind of legal assistance you require. It’s not uncommon for a person’s case to involve multiple components of family law, but it is important that the attorney you choose is experienced in all of the areas you need help with.
 

Starting And Narrowing Your Search

As with finding many types of professional services these days, many people start with a simple Google search and to see what comes up.

While this is a fine jumping off point, you will almost certainly need to do more research to find the right family attorney for your case. Try searching by type of practice (“family law attorney”) and location (“family law attorney San Francisco”) to begin narrowing your results.

The next step is to check out each prospective attorney’s website: Is the website professional? Is the information easy to read and understand? Do they list your type of legal problem(s) in their areas of expertise?

Another helpful tool is to go on Yelp and search for the attorney by name. Are they listed? How many reviews do they have? Are the reviews mostly positive, negative, or mixed?
 

Interviewing A Family Attorney

After you’ve narrowed down your list to a handful of prospective favorites, you’ll want to meet with each lawyer in person. Keep in mind that many attorneys prefer to do a phone consultation prior to meeting with clients in person, and some attorneys charge a consultation fee either for the phone call, the meeting, or both.

Remember to bring any relevant legal documents you have regarding your case along with you to your initial consultation. A family attorney needs to understand your legal situation as clearly as possible to make an accurate assessment of your case.

A few common questions you can ask either over the phone or during your in-person consultation include:

• What do you think about my case? What do you think my chances of succeeding are?
• What is your retainer fee and/or hourly billing rate? What does that include? Do you charge for travel, photocopies, email and/or phone communication?
• What kind of experience do you have with cases like mine?
• If you take my case, what would be your approach to ensuring a preferable outcome?

Any family attorney you hire should practice in your local area. Family law cases often require courtroom appearances, and almost all attorneys charge some amount for travel time.

Make sure you can afford the attorney you’ve selected, but the most important thing is that you’re comfortable with and trust the family attorney you hire to act and work in your best interest.