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HOW TO SELECT
A DIVORCE ATTORNEY
- Above all, select a divorce
specialist! Never retain a divorce attorney until you
have had a personal consultation with the attorney. On Staten
Island, the initial consultation may last from five minutes to
up to an hour or more. The cost will vary from free (generally
for a five minute consultation) to three hundred dollars or
more. Our firm charges $75.00 for an initial half hour
consultation. At this initial consultation, you should not ask
the attorney whether or not he or she "handles divorce
cases", but rather, ask "what percentage of your
professional practice is devoted exclusively to divorce,
separation and custody matters?". If the answer given is
less than 90%, you do not have a true matrimonial specialist and
you should look elsewhere! In addition, write down several
questions before the interview to test the attorney's knowledge
of current divorce law, recent tax law changes, etc.
- Discuss fees candidly.
A good matrimonial attorney will respect you for bringing up the
question of fees at the first meeting. Some important questions
are:
- How is the fee determined - on the
basis of the number of hours of legal services rendered, on a
flat rate basis, etc.
- If there is more than one attorney
in the firm, who will be handling your case?
- Will one hourly rate apply
regardless of which attorney performs the services, or will you
be charged less if an associate attorney performs certain
portions of the case?
- If you would prefer to have the
partner or owner of the firm perform all parts of your case,
even if it will cost more, do you have that option?
- How often will you receive bills?
Beware of non-itemized bills. Rather, insist upon fully itemized
bills rendered monthly. A fully itemized bill, which our firm
uses, helps to keep you advised of the progress of your case as
well as to help eliminate the possibility of any errors
occurring in the preparation of your bill.
3. Watch out for attorneys who
pressure you to retain them during the initial consultation.
Ethical divorce attorneys will usually encourage you to think over
whether or not you wish to proceed. At our firm, we discourage your
retaining our firm during the initial consultation since we believe
that divorce or separation is a major step in your life which should
only be undertaken after careful consideration. If you are uncertain
as to how to proceed, we will be glad to recommend a marriage
counselor, priest, etc.
4. After you have met the
prospective attorney at the initial consultation, ask yourself
whether or not you felt comfortable discussing personal and often
intimate details of your life and marriage with that attorney.
Did the attorney seem too busy to properly handle your case? Did the
attorney "talk down" to you and refuse to answer your
questions in simple sentences? If you decide that you feel
comfortable with the attorney, you should then try to find out the
attorney's reputation on Staten Island. Is the attorney known as a
knowledgeable, forceful and aggressive fighter for his client or as
an attorney who is often unprepared and afraid to go into Court to
protect his client if Court action is necessary? If you determine
that the attorney is well known on Staten Island as being a good
matrimonial attorney who fights for his clients, then you probably
have found yourself the best divorce lawyer for you!
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