Are you looking for a family law attorney and you’re overwhelmed with all the choices out there? I’m not surprised, because there’s a lot of us. But today I’m going to talk to you about what to look for in a family law attorney and in a family law firm. The first quality in a family law firm to look for, in my opinion, is what do other clients say about the family law firm and what do they say about the attorneys who work there? You should be able to go online and read some reviews. Now, sometimes, no matter what happens, a court will decide against a client and a client will be disappointed, and sometimes that sort of thing shows up in a review, but look at the overall reviews and what the majority of the clients are saying online because that’s going to tell you a lot about the family law firm.
The second quality in a family law firm that I think you should look for when you’re out there looking for an attorney is how do they bill and is there transparency? And what happens if you don’t agree with something on an invoice? That should all be explained to you in the initial consultation. For example, lots of attorneys bill once a month and you need to find out when should you expect an invoice and will the invoice reflect what’s left in the trust account? Will it reflect the retainer? And then also what you should expect is what happens when you disagree with something on the invoice? Do you call the attorney? Is there someone else to call? Is there transparency? Are they willing to talk to you about the invoice they just sent?
The third thing to look for in a family law firm, in my opinion, is does the firm have a strong team? Do they have people in place who can do the work for, say, a lesser billable hour amount than the actual attorney? For example, if you have to produce your mandatory financial disclosures, perhaps putting together the draft of that should be done by a paralegal at a lower rate than the attorney. The attorney will still have to review them and quite possibly discuss them with you before you sign off on them. But the grunt work, and I shouldn’t really call it grunt work, but the paralegal work, should be done by someone with a lower billable hour. That’s just basic. So is the family law firm you’re looking at willing to delegate that sort of thing to people who can do it for less money? Those are basic questions that should be asked in that initial consultation.
If you’re still watching this video and you’re looking for a family lawyer or family law firm, I’d like you to consider us, The Drake Law Firm. My name is Marie Drake, and I’ve built a strong team. We have a wonderful presence online. I would say please read our reviews, please come in for a consult. We can give you a strategy session, talk about our billing practices, and talk about the team and how we can move you into the new part of your life with a path forward through your divorce.
