Selecting the right divorce attorney is a very important decision for anyone who is getting divorced. The attorney that a party engages to represent them in their divorce can have a major impact on the outcome, duration and cost of their divorce.

Finding the right divorce attorney requires the prospective client to do some thinking and then do their homework. The prospective client needs to determine what criteria they will use to select their divorce attorney and then they should prioritize and weigh these criteria. Choosing a particular divorce attorney simply because their office is near your home, or because your friend speaks highly of them, or their name came up first in an online search is a mistake. These are ways to find potential candidates. However, these are not meaningful criteria upon which to base such an important decision.

In selecting a divorce attorney, the factors that should be considered include, but are not limited to:

(1) The attorney’s level of experience and competence in handling divorce cases.
(2) The attorney’s level of experience dealing with the particular issues presented in the prospective client’s matter. These can include domestic violence or the custody of children. These also can include economic issues such as self-employed individuals, family-owned businesses, rental and income properties as well as family trusts.
(3) The attorney’s level of experience practicing in the courts of the county in which the prospective client resides.
(4) The attorney’s online reviews. This is not just how many stars out of five they have on Google. This means reading the reviews. A one-star or five-star review with no commentary really says nothing more than someone loved or hated the attorney. A prospective client should look for things in prior clients’ comments that make the attorney sound like someone who will do the best job for them. This can include statements about how well the attorney explains things, their level of preparedness, their level of legal knowledge, how well they return phone calls, their availability and willingness to meet with clients, their level of empathy, their willingness to negotiate, their ability to litigate, as well as many other details that might seem relevant to the prospective client’s unique circumstances.

These factors often cannot be reliably ascertained from reviewing an attorney’s website or an online profile. However, looking online to get an initial picture about an attorney can help narrow the list of candidates and help the prospective client determine who might be their best choice. Ultimately, the most reliable way to choose an attorney is to have an initial consultation. This essentially is an opportunity for the prospective client to interview the attorney as the attorney interviews the prospective client.

A quick free phone call is not a real initial consultation. A real initial consultation is an in-person meeting between the prospective client and the attorney for which the client will be expected to pay a consultation fee.

In an initial consultation an attorney will ask the prospective client a lot of questions about their particular facts and circumstances in order to identify legal and factual issues and offer the appropriate legal advice. Likewise, in a consultation the prospective client should ask the attorney questions to see if the attorney best fits their legal needs. Meeting in-person allows the attorney and the prospective client to see each other’s demeanor and body language, the informational value of which should not be underestimated.

A prospective client should ask the consulting attorney about his or her philosophy and methodology with handling matrimonial matters. They also should ask the attorney about their experience with similar cases or cases with similar issues. For example, some divorce attorneys have lots of experience in dealing with custody issues, but they may have little to no experience dealing with economic issues such as real estate matters, business valuations, or qualified domestic relations orders. Other attorneys are great with economic issues, but are not very adept with custodial issues. Hence, the prospective client should make sure that the attorney has sufficient experience with the issues that he or she expects to be in controversy in their case.

If the other party has an attorney, the prospective client should ask the consulting attorney if they have experience dealing with the other attorney. Attorneys are people too and some attorneys seriously dislike each other to the point where they cannot effectively negotiate. If it appears that there is bad blood between the consulting attorney and the other party’s attorney, that may be a reason to go elsewhere.

A prospective client should feel comfortable speaking with the attorney. They should feel like they are being heard and that their questions are being answered sufficiently. They should feel a level of confidence in the attorney’s ability to best represent them.

Consulting with an attorney does not obligate the prospective client to retain the attorney. Attorneys understand that a prospective client may consult with more than one attorney. They also understand that people often need time to process what they were told in a consultation. It is perfectly appropriate for a prospective client to take some time after a consultation to make a decision about hiring the attorney. Sometimes a second consultation with the attorney may be appropriate if additional information is needed. Attorneys will not be offended by a prospective client who does not ask to retain them after the initial consultation. If they are offended, they probably are not the right attorney to retain.

There are plenty of experienced divorce attorneys. Not everyone is right for every divorce client. A prospective client should not be afraid to interview more than one attorney and no one should ever feel like they must engage an attorney who they do not like or with whom they feel uncomfortable.