SHOP AROUND
Assuming you do not hire our firm, here are some questions you should ask other lawyers you interview in order to protect yourself.
- Does he have a written contract which explains your rights?
- Has he put in writing what you will be charged for his time, his staff's time, etc.?
- Does he charge for copies, faxes, postage, air conditioning?
- Is your retainer fee refundable? If so, when will you receive your refund?
- What is an estimate of what the entire lawsuit will cost? It is common practice for some attorneys to lure you in with a low initial retainer fee and to bill you after the first hearing for much more.
- Is he Board Certified? This does not necessarily mean that you're getting a good lawyer. Ask how many family law trials he has tried and won.
- Is Family Law a small percentage of his practice? RUN. Family Law is extremely complex and cannot be effectively practiced without full attention. Just to keep current on the law, Family Lawyers have to attend a four day seminar every single year. That is a lot of material to be digested each year.
- Are there minimum increments of time you will be charged? For example, if you call and have a five minute conversation with your lawyer, you may be charged .25/hr. or 15 minutes.
- Can you work with this person? What are your gut, heart and head telling you? Remember, the two of you may be together for two or three years.
