3 Tips for Finding Yourself the Best Family Law Lawyer

 

A family law lawyer is a legal professional who specializes in dealing with issues relating the breakdown of marital relationships. This means they most commonly deal with issues of divorce, child custody and the division of marital assets, also known as property settlement.

Naturally, individuals going through any of the above legal situations will want to have a professional solicitor on their side that has specialist qualifications. While contemporary divorce proceedings are usually straightforward matters, issues like property settlement and child custody can be particularly acrimonious, often leading to intense litigation.

If you are facing these circumstances, then you would probably want to engage to an experienced family law lawyer to assist you in preparing legal documents, negotiating with the opposing party and representing your interests in the courtroom. However, the legal field is a diverse one and locating the best professional to suit your specific needs can be difficult, especially if you lack experience.

The following 3 tips will help you find the best family law lawyer you can.

 

1: Ask friends, family and colleague for recommendations

Because divorce and the issues relating to it are so widespread, it’s not hard to find someone you know who has engaged a family law lawyer. Whether it’s a relative who has gone through a divorce or perhaps a colleague at work; don’t hesitate to ask them who they engaged to help them through their time of crisis.

Based on what they tell you, you’ll be able to quickly gather whether or not the professional they used is worth paying a visit to. While someone personally having a bad result may not necessarily be a poor reflection on the solicitor, it is still worth noting when you are at this early stage of searching.

Ideally, you want the person you are asking to strongly recommend the solicitor as a great choice for the legal issue you have described to them. If they aren’t enthusiastic about the solicitor, it’s unlikely that is going to be a good choice for you to pursue.

family breaking up

 

2: Search the internet and relevant directories

The next best place to search for a family law lawyer is the internet and/or relevant directories. With a simple Google search for “family law lawyer” you will be almost instantly served with thousands of relevant results that are both local to you and have a strong authority behind them.

If a firm is appearing on the first page of results, then it’s a good indication that they are trustworthy and are successful because of the digital marketing budget they clearly have. Make sure that you pay attention to the difference between paid-for or “sponsored” results and the organic ones.

Upon visiting the website, you should navigate the various information pages to get more information about the solicitor(s) and their qualifications. A great family law lawyer will disclaim that they are specialists in the areas of divorce, child custody and property settlement as well as perhaps have special negotiating skills like alternative dispute resolution (ADR).

 

3: Schedule an interview with your top candidates

Providing you have the time and your case isn’t incredibly urgent, you should try to organise face-to-face (or at the very list phone) interviews with your prospects. Any good family law lawyer should be happy to sit down with you and have a surface level discussion of your case so that they can get a feel for you and you can get a feel for them.

They should be enthusiastic about taking you case and should be realistic about what they think they can accomplish for you. Be wary of a solicitor who promises you an ideal result right from the start as this is probably too good to be true.