Top 5 Things to Look For When Hiring a Divorce Lawyer

At Filler Rodriguez LLP we speak to potential clients every week. This article is a list of the top 5 things a potential client should look for when hiring a divorce lawyer:

The Lawyer is specialized in marital and family law.
The law has become as specialized as medicine. Would you go to an orthopedic surgeon if you had a heart issue? No of course not, you would go to a heart specialist. The purpose of board certification is to ensure those who are board certified are thoroughly knowledgeable about divorce law. Only lawyers that have reached the highest levels of reviews by judges and other lawyers can even sit for the board certification test. A Florida divorce lawyer who specializes in what Florida refers to as “marital and family law” will be familiar with all the newest developments of divorce law as well as nuances that a lawyer who does not specialize in divorce law will not. Catherine M. Rodriguez the managing partner of Filler Rodriguez LLP is Board Certified in Marital & Family Law.
The Lawyer listens to you. It is very important that when hiring a divorce lawyer that during your consultation the lawyer listens to you and your issues. The lawyer should listen to you when you are looking to hire them for a divorce and explain how the law and or potential judge could view your issues.
Lawyer is Prepared. When you meet the potential divorce lawyer, is the lawyer prepared and have they given you substantive information relevant to the divorce process? A lawyer should give you a generalized background of what the issues will be in your divorce and the potential outcomes that can occur.
Lawyer Promises Everything You Want. Be careful of the over promisor or lawyer tying their fee to the outcome of your case. The Florida Bar Rules do not allow a lawyer to guarantee an outcome. It is important to be wary of the lawyer that is over promising just to get you as a client. Divorce lawyers are prohibited from earning a fee tied to the outcome of your case such as a contingency fee- percentage of assets you obtain in the divorce.
Lawyer Communicates Promptly and Has a Policy of Communication. The divorce lawyer is organized about their methods of communicating with the client. The divorce lawyer you hire should explain their communication policy and how they will be communicating with you. You should be able to reach your divorce lawyer quickly and without unreasonable delays. For example, at Filler Rodriguez LLP we have a policy that anything that comes into our office or out of our office related to the client’s case has to be sent promptly to the client. Additionally, we provide a variety of alternative methods of communication to ensure that a client can speak with us about their divorce issues.