What to Look for when Hiring an Attorney

While Google is a terrific way to find an attorney, it does not provide you with an answer as to who you should actually hire. As such it is important for people to consider several things when choosing an attorney.

1. Check the License: Make sure that the person you are hiring is a licensed attorney with the California State Bar. This is extremely easy to do. Simply go the CA State Bar website and type in the attorneys name to verify. I have heard horror stories of people giving their money to individuals pretending to be attorneys.

2. Communication Communication Communication: Talk to the attorney and decide if this particular person can understand your legal needs. If it seems like the attorney does not listen to you, or ignores your questions, it may be best to keep looking. There are countless cases where clients hire an attorney only to find out that none of the initial legal actions were taken and that the attorney ignores all of their calls, emails, and text messages. A good attorney will inform you of realistic goals, so that realistic expectations are set. While it is normal for an attorney to not answer the same day, oftentimes, people are left waiting several days or even weeks for a response. If it seems like the potential attorney may have these issues, keep searching.

3. Can they handle it: Some attorneys consider themselves jacks of all trades and make claims of being able to practice all types of law even though they may have never even handled cases like those before. It is important that you have a conversation with your attorney about their experience and ability to take on your case. If they claim to be able to do everything, it may be too good to be true.

4. Budget: Family law and its cases on custody, divorce, and support are particularly expensive. Depending on the case, prices can range from a few thousand dollars to $100,000 or more. The rule of thumb is "the more you fight, the more expensive the case gets". Make sure that the attorney you hire is able to take on your case and see it through to the end based on your budget. Most firms adopt a hourly pay schedule where they bill clients an hourly rate typically ranging from $250-$1000 an hour. This is beneficial to firms and clients because both are able to see where the funds are going. This is on the other hand difficult for clients because their financial situations may change and they may not be able to afford the attorney later on in the case. If this is the case for you, find a flat rate fee attorney so that you are clear on how much you have to pay and can make arrangements for paying the balance up front.

5. Empathy: A skill that simply cant be taught in law school is empathy. Make sure that the lawyer you choose actually cares about your case. The passion and empathy that an attorney has for your case will carry over in the arguments before the court. If you choose an attorney that doesn't care either way, then you may be stuck with a situation where the case continues to drag on with no end in sight.