Is Your Family Law Attorney Qualified to Handle Your Case?

QUALIFIED FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY?

Selecting a family law attorney is serious business. You basically put all your hopes in their hands. Whether you get what you want or not is almost entirely dependent on them. This is why you need to seriously consider whether you’re making the right choice.

How do you know if your family law attorney is qualified to handle your case? Is it enough that they are just licensed to practice law or is there more to it? Here are basic things to consider in determining if your family law attorney is qualified.

IS THE ATTORNEY A SPECIALIST?

You need to question how often the attorney practices family law. A lot of attorneys are involved in many areas of practice. There’s actually no regulation that demands that an attorney only practice in one area of the law such as family law. It doesn’t mean that they are not good in all those areas or don’t know what they’re doing.

However, it is important for you to be certain that they know family law. You don’t want a situation where they give you the impression that they know family law just because they’re a licensed attorney, when they actually don’t.

The nuances of family law are pretty unique. You want to make sure that your family law attorney knows those nuances. This is especially so for complicated cases. Practice, they say, makes perfect. An attorney that specializes in family law practice definitely has an edge over another licensed attorney that has many other considerations.

If you have an uncontested matter, where you and the other party essentially agree and you just need someone to walk you through the court process, maybe you could get just any lawyer. But for more complex issues, like alienation, alimony or relocation, you would be best served with going for an attorney that specializes in family law practice.

THE ATTORNEY’S STYLE OF PRACTICE

An attorney is not different from his personality. You want an attorney that represents the way you need to operate to further your interests in the case. There’s the bulldog approach, the honey approach and everything in between.

Some attorneys pride themselves on being a bulldog and they are not afraid to take your case before the court and get you those rulings or decisions you need. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with this approach and it may be exactly what you need in some circumstances.

Other attorneys feel you can catch more bees with honey. They feel it is better to see if you can work something out and create a resolution that works best for everybody without going to court. There’s nothing wrong with this approach either.

If honey is needed, you need that and if it’s the other way around, you need that too. It’s however difficult to determine what your case needs without meeting an attorney. When you do meet the attorney, make sure they’re objective and can represent the way you need to operate to further your interests in the case. Ensure that they’re able to put aside their personal preferences and truly consider your best interests.

There are a lot of other things that a family law attorney should have. However, if your attorney has these two, you know you’ve got a good deal.