No matter who first asks for it, a divorce is a bombshell. Even if it’s a mutual decision, it’s still an incredibly painful experience that can leave you bitter and hollow. When dealing with such strong emotional realities, the last thing you want to do is be cold and logical. Despite that, it is vital that you hire a divorce attorney, and you want to make sure that you have the best representation possible. Here are a few tips to choosing the best divorce lawyer.
Check with the Bar
A good starting point when searching for an attorney in any circumstance is checking with your state bar. While it won’t necessarily tell you how good an attorney is, it can start by letting you know about every family divorce lawyer in Hollywood FL that has proper certification. Having that certification is kind of like having a driver’s license; having one doesn’t mean much, but not having one is a big problem. Get some local names from the bar to make your starting list.
Read Reviews
Everything is reviewed online these days, and lawyers are no different. Type in a few of the names that you got from your state bar and see what the reviews have to say. Look out for high prices and low rates of satisfaction. This will help you weed out the bad ones, and whittle down your list to just a handful of choices.
Ask For References
Once you’ve got your few choices, you want to meet with each one of them. You already know how they’ve been reviewed, and you presumably know they’re certified, though it doesn’t hurt to ask to see the certification. What you really want now is references, past clients who they’ve worked with. If a lawyer is reluctant to give out references, that’s a big bad sign right off the bat. After you get some references, feel free to contact them, and ask about how their divorce process went, and how helpful the lawyer was with the process.
Go With Your Gut
Finally, even if an attorney passes all of these with flying colors, if you get a bad feeling, trust that bad feeling. Only ever work with someone that you’re completely comfortable with. It’s possible that they’d be a perfectly decent lawyer, but your life and happiness isn’t worth the risk. Always make sure that you can trust your attorney, whatever that may mean to you.
