What are good questions to ask when hiring a Family Law Attorney?

Answer 1

See related question below for more info.

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Before interviewing your first prospective attorney, come prepared. Prepare your CHRONOLOGICAL STATEMENT, FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS, and DAILY JOURNAL (see Related Links below). Take someone with you. Bring clip boards and tablets for taking detailed notes.

1. How long have you been practicing in this court district or county?

NOTE: We recommend that no one be considered who has not been practice at least 3 years, 5 years or more is better. But, a new attorney without a large case load has more time to devote to a case and is less expensive.

2. From which Law School did you graduate?

NOTE: Some Law Schools are better then others, but this information should also be listed on the state bar website for the state that the attorney is licensed to practice in.

3. Are you Board Certified in Family Law?

NOTE: It requires a state test to be board certified not all attorneys have the ego to be board certified. When they are board certified they charge more. Board Certified Family Law attorneys have been in practice a minimum of 3 years, but most do not become certified until after 6-12 years. To become certified, one must have had cases, in various categories, plus appellate cases, take a written and oral exam, and be re-certified EVERY YEAR. The US Supreme Court Chief Justice recently said of US attorneys that "...three-fourths are incompetent, dishonest, or both ." The odds of getting a qualified attorney go up when selection is made from the Board Certified Family Law list. But there are no guarantees and they tend to charge more.

4. Are you a member of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers?

5. Are you active in local Bar Continuing Education Programs?

NOTE: Most State Bar Associations do require a specific number of CLE's every year. It is generally a good sign if your attorney as been asked to teach continuing education programs for other attorneys.

6. If an Attorney Ad Litem is to be appointed, do you know the good ones?

7. Do you practice in other counties, states, countries, besides this one?

NOTE: This becomes an issue when the custodial parent tries moving the child outside the local jurisdiction and re-files the case.

8. What percentage of your practice is in Family Law, specifically in divorce and custody cases?

NOTE: Qualified attorneys in the Family Law field should have at least 50% of their case load in this area. If less than this, they are probably not sharp enough to represent Fathers.

9. How much "trial" experience do you have in family law/custody cases in this county?

NOTE: Do they know how to try a case? Some big name attorneys are CRUMMY trial lawyers, and may or may not, be behind-the-scenes negotiators. ALL OF THEM MUSTknow how to take a case to trial. Does this one?

10. How do you feel about taking cases to a jury (Texas)? What percentage of your cases have gone to a trial by jury?

11. Have you handled any Child Support Cases where the order was set outside the state guideline, creating either a higher or lower payment?

NOTE: Child Support guidelines are a rebuttable presumption, meaning that the payment does not have to follow the specific guideline amounts. See reference below.

12. Are you familiar with Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS)? How many cases have you handled with PAS as a factor, and what was the outcome?

NOTE: This question would only apply if PAS is a factor in your case, but it's a good question to ask to see if the attorney is even aware of PAS. Refer them to Dr. Gardner's book on PAS. See links below

13. Are you familiar with the judges in this county, in particular Judge XXXXXX?

NOTE: The last part of this question would only apply if you know in advance who your judge will be, or you're going back before the same judge in a modification. Depending on local court practices, you may or may not be able to find out who the judge will be.

14. If so, what are his/her "preferences" when dealing with a custody case? In other words:

* Is he/she open to taking custody from a mother who is the current custodial parent and giving custody to a father who is the current non-custodial parent? The only time a judge would take a child away from a custodial parent and give them to a non-custodial parent is if there is something wrong with the custodial parent. This is a case by case basis. * Is he/she open to awarding Joint Custody in the true sense of the word? Most states require an agreement on joint custody otherwise it is sole custody to one of the parents with parenting time to the other. * Has the judge ever ruled on a Bird Custody case? See Related Link below

* Does he/she usually prefer Parenting/Custody Evaluations? This is a financial question a custody evaluator has to be paid for and who has the funds to pay for such a study once that has been established the attorneys can stipulate to a study or fill a motion for the court to appoint someone to do the study.

15. How many cases of my type have you had?

NOTE: If the answer is NONE, you may not want to be the first, but a new attorney with a seasoned paralegal can still can be a good choice. This happens when an older attorney passes away and the paralegal chooses a new attorney to work with, and guide.

16. In how many of these have you represented fathers?

NOTE: An attorney will not be able to give you references in this matter due to confidentiality laws.

17. How many father's cases of this type have you WON?

NOTE: This is an important question, but again, reference cases fall under confidentiality laws.

18. Should I decide to hire you, would you be willing to sign a statement stating that as my lawyer, you will not take any action without my express permission, unless circumstances are so urgent, that there is no reasonable opportunity to reach me for consultation, and that under no circumstances will you bind me to any substantive agreement?

19. Should I decide to hire you, I would request the following:

* The ability to communicate with you via e-mail. * The opportunity to perform menial tasks myself in order to keep my costs at a minimum.

20. What is your hourly rate? Do you have a Paralegal at a lower rate?

21. How many hours do you estimate this case to take?

NOTE: Most custody cases require from 80 to 120 billable attorney hours, NOT counting paralegals or expert witnesses, or Ad Litems.

22. Do you require a retainer? How much? Is it refundable?

NOTE: Avoid high retainers. Retainers in excess of 1/3 of the estimated total fee, denies you the opportunity to change lawyers later. If an attorney charges you a non-refundable retainer fee, you will not get any of your money back if you fire him. If the attorney charges you a refundable retainer, you will only get the unused portion of the retainer fee back should you fire the attorney.

23. Do you have a written contract, and can it be modified?

NOTE: Most attorneys have written contracts that are designed to protect their FEES and provide a means for them to collect unpaid fees from you. Modification of the contract is one way for you to set forth, on paper, what is expected of the attorney, and provides a remedy for you to assure compliance on his/her part.

24. Do you carry Malpractice insurance?

NOTE: Good attorneys usually carry insurance, that is, if they value their practice. If they don't value their practice, then neither should you.

25. Are there any Bar grievances against you within the last 3 years?

NOTE: You should not always disqualify an attorney because he has a bar grievance filed against him. It is a very common ploy in litigation today to file a grievance against the opposing attorney hoping that he or she will withdraw from the case.

26. Do you provide MONTHLY, ITEMIZED STATEMENTS?

NOTE: A common complaint is that retainers are spent, and large sums are required JUST BEFORE the final hearing. The attorney, when asked about the retainer, says, "It got spent", or send a statement "$5000 for services rendered." Don't hire an attorney who does not send out billing statements at least once a month.

27. Do you have a list of recommended:

* Private Detectives * Mediators * Mental Health Professionals * Accountants * Others

NOTE: If the attorney hires the specialist, then any information obtained using them becomes PRIVILEGED and cannot be obtained through discovery. If you, the litigant, hire this professional, then the other side can obtain any information you developed, through the use of Discovery or Deposition. The attorney should have a good working knowledge of how the above professionals work and should have regular contacts within the above fields. If the attorney is not knowledgeable about experts in the above areas, he does not have the necessary contacts to help you win your case.

28. Have you ever been divorced? And if so, did you get custody?

NOTE: If this attorney is SO GREAT, would you trust him/her if they didn't get custody? And if they didn't, why not?

29. Are you currently involved in a divorce yourself?

NOTE: You know the turmoil that you are going through, can you imagine this attorney doing "justice" to you and your case if he is also going through this same PERSONAL agony? Think about it!

30. What percentage of your cases is settled outside of court?

NOTE: This can either indicate a good negotiator or a roll over and play dead artist.

31. What is your feeling on these subjects:

* Mediation * Father as Custodial Parent * Joint Physical Custody * Bird Nest Custody (see Related Link) * Child Support * Property Division * Community Property * Grandparents Rights (though a state law may exist, including wording on this prevents future problems) * Children testifying in court (most judges do not allow this)

32. How many Family Law cases did you have last year?

NOTE: Most Family Law attorneys have 4-7 active child custody cases each month. Remember, this would be 48-84 cases each year. Most have five. If they have more then seven, guess how little time they will spend with you on your case???

33. What strategy do you recommend?

34. What is your estimate of my chances of winning?

NOTE: If the attorney represents any kind of guarantee, RUN, don't walk, away from this shyster.

35. How can I get in touch with you after normal business hours and weekends?

NOTE: Most attorneys do not have a way for clients in divorce case to reach them after hours or on weekends. This is because a clients tend to think that it is an emergency because the other parent cut the child's hair, pierced their ears, didn't show up at little league, was five minutes late picking up or returning a child, etc. An emergency is blood guts or broken bones, not the trivial thing that happen during a divorce action. A lot of fathers call their attorney every day, then wonder why they run out of retainer very quickly. You need to write down your questions, than call when you have several, rather than every day. AND, NEVER AFTER HOURS UNLESS IT'S A TRUE EMERGENCY, AND NOT JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE UPSET WITH SOMETHING DONE BY THE OTHER PARENT.

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SEC. 103. STATE GUIDELINES FOR CHILD SUPPORT AWARD AMOUNTS.

(A)(a) GUIDELINES TO CREATE REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION.-Section 467(b)

of the Social Security Act is amended-

(1) by inserting (1) after (b):

(2) by striking, "but need not be binding upon such judges or other officials;" and

(3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

(4) "There shall be a REBUTTABLE presumption, in any judicial or administrative proceeding for the award of child support, that the amount of the award which would result from the application of such guidelines is the correct amount of child support to be awarded. A written finding or specific finding on the record that the application of the guidelines would be unjust or inappropriate in a particular case, as determined under criteria established the State, shall be sufficient to rebut the presumption is that case."