How to Hire a Family Law Attorney
A divorce is a difficult time in anyone’s life. Don’t make it any more difficult by hiring the wrong lawyer.
A divorce lawyer can be an asset or a headache. A lawyer can help navigate a complicated legal world, protect your property, and alleviate the stress of dealing with a confusing legal system during a difficult time. A lawyer can certainly be a headache, however.
What should you avoid when hiring an attorney? Here are two things to watch out for when you interview potential lawyers to take your case.
Avoid Lawyers Who Promise the World
It is too easy for us lawyers to sit in our office with a potential client and promise we will get them everything under the sun in a divorce. Good divorce lawyers will never do this. Good lawyers know the long road of negotiations and compromise ahead of them in the case. They know it is always prudent to under-promise and over-deliver.
The reality in a divorce is each person will not get everything they want. Lawyers know this. Lawyers also know potential clients want to hear what they want to hear, however.
Lawyers should be confident in their ability to represent clients. There’s nothing wrong with this. But there is a difference between confidence and blowing smoke.
Be Wary of the Aggressive Lawyer
Every client thinks they want an aggressive lawyer. Blame TV for this. There are a lot of attorneys who can’t wait to be as aggressive as possible and there is a reason for this.
Divorce lawyers generally get paid by the hour. We bill in increments, either usually six minutes, ten minutes, or fifteen minutes. This means we get paid more when we do more work.
Being aggressive is a terrific way to boost those billables. Filing a simple motion will increase the cost of litigation by a minimum of two thousand dollars.
Aggressiveness will ultimately make the case more difficult to solve, which hurts the client, and again drives up the cost of litigation.
Be careful when an attorney starts talking about filing a motion for this or that. See if the lawyer is skilled at resolving disputes in an efficient manner. Ask the lawyer if he or she likes to talk about issues before guns blazing.
See if the lawyer cares about you or running up the bill.
Conclusion
Don’t make a difficult time worse by hiring the wrong lawyer. Look out for these traits in a potential lawyer, and stay away from the wrong lawyer.
Author Biography
Family Law Ann Arbor | Sam Bernstein of ArborYpsi Law is a Family Law attorney in Washtenaw County. You can reach him at 734.883.9584 or at bernstein@arborypsilaw.com. ArborYpsi Law is located at 206 N. Huron St., Ypsilanti, MI.
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