Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Family Law Attorney
Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Family Law Attorney
Do you need legal help to solve a family issue? Hiring a family lawyer is a crucial decision and it needs a few considerations. Before you hire a family law attorney make sure you are choosing the right person to handle your case. Take some time to interview the attorney. Here are a few categories of interview questions that you can ask the family law attorney.
Experience: The most relevant thing would be experience. Ask the lawyer whether he or specializes in family law. Check what types of cases he or she had handled previously. See how many years the lawyer has been into practice. Is there any case that the lawyer has successfully settled out of court? Does the lawyer have courtroom experience? Is your case unique to the lawyer or he or she has got experience of handling similar cases.
Logistics: Asking questions about logistics is equally important. You should ask whether the lawyer is going to handle your case personally. Make sure that he or she is willing to invest enough time in your case.
Payment: Lawyers charge a good deal of money for their service but the bad news is that often there are hidden costs which people don't understand initially. Ask your lawyer whether there is any hidden cost like filing fees, traveling fess or additional costs related to documents, photocopies etc. Ask the attorney whether you need to pay any extra charge if the lawyer brings his or her assistants for help.
Communication: This is another important area to consider. After the first meeting you should ask when you can expect to hear from your lawyer. It is crucial to know how you are going to get updates of your case. You should also know the preferred way of communication of your lawyer, whether you should call him up, send him e-mail or fax him.
Correspondence: You should ask your lawyer to send you the copies of all correspondence that are related to your case. Ask your lawyer whether you are going to get them through traditional mail or electronically.
Collaboration: This is another crucial area to focus on. You should know whether the lawyer works from a collaborative point of view. This will help you to understand whether you are selecting the right person.
Expectations: It is not that the client alone expects things from the lawyer it is also vice versa. A lawyer also expects several things from the client. Whether the lawyer will win the case depends a lot on the co-operation of the client. So ask your client what he or she expects from you.
Some of the family laws vary depending on the state. Therefore you should always hire a local attorney. For example if you live in Dallas you should hire aDallas family law attorney to handle your case.