Hiring a lawyer for any legal need is a careful task that requires the utmost attention. But when it comes to your family legal needs, the duty to ensure you choose the right lawyer is even more serious. Before hiring a family lawyer, it is important to ask them questions that will help you better understand their work experience, qualifications, ethics, and more.
Continue reading to review the top 10 questions you should ask a family lawyer to help you decide if they are the right fit for your case.
❶ How Long Have You Practiced Family Law in the State?
It is helpful to choose an experienced lawyer who focuses solely on family law. You wouldn’t want a criminal defense attorney representing your divorce, after all. Anywhere from eight to ten years of experience as a licensed attorney in family law is a good starting point.
❷ Can You Provide Client Testimonials?
A lawyer who can and will provide past client testimonials and case results is a good sign of integrity. It is wise to read through what other clients have to say about your potential lawyer in order to get a better perspective of how they work their cases.
❸ Do You Personally Handle Every Client’s Case?
Ask your potential lawyer whether or not they personally handle client cases, and if they will be handling yours personally as well. Although it is common for law firms to appoint more than one attorney to a case, or delegate certain duties to legal staff, it is comforting to know how much time they will be working your case themselves.
❹ How Many Cases are You Currently Handling?
Lawyers take on more than one case at a time, all the time. But some lawyers tend to overload themselves. As a result, they cannot put in the same level of attention to each case. If your potential family lawyer has handfuls of active cases, you may want to consider whether or not that matters to you, and whether or not it can affect the outcome of your case.
❺ Do Your Cases Typically Settle In or Out of Court?
Be sure to ask lawyers about their case results. It is helpful to know whether or not their cases usually settle out of court, or if they tend to go to trial. Lawyers who have experience with both are a good choice, but you don’t want to choose a lawyer that is “litigation happy”, meaning they opt to go to trial too often.
❻ What is Your Payment Rate and Procedure?
Your potential family lawyer should have full transparency when it comes to how and how much they charge for their services. First, ask if they require a retainer, or if they charge by the hour. Then be sure to ask if there are any other fees you need to know about, upfront, such as filing fees, court costs, and similar expenses.
❼ Do Your Rates Change if Someone Else Works My Case?
After you have a full understanding of how much your possible family lawyer charges and how they charge it, you want to ask them whether or not that payment arrangement changes if someone else works on your case. This might include secretaries, assistants, paralegals, and other legal staff members.
❽ How Do You Communicate With Your Clients?
As a legal client, you want convenience and consistency when it comes to communicating with your lawyer. So feel comfortable asking a potential attorney how and how often they communicate with their clients. Some lawyers don’t always require office visits, and instead, can carry out consultations and meetings over the phone or via Skype.
❾ How Do I Contact You During My Case?
After learning the communication efforts and practices of your potential family lawyer, ask them how you will personally be contacting them during your case. Optimally, you want them to provide a phone number and email address. If using a phone, you may want to ask them if text messaging is an acceptable form of communication.
❿ What Do You Expect From Your Clients?
When working with a lawyer on a family-related legal case, you are a team. For this reason, a family lawyer might have certain expectations for their own clients. It is good to know these expectations ahead of time to gauge whether or not the lawyer is a good fit.
The Orlando Family Lawyer to Choose
Contact Attorney Shane T. Herbert at 407-887-7058 to get trusted legal advice from a seasoned family lawyer in Orlando, Florida. You can choose to have your first appointment over the phone or even video conference, if needed. If you choose an in-office visit, our family law office is conveniently located in the Metro West area, within the Offices of Veranda Park, which offers free parking. We look forward to helping you resolve your family legal matters!
