When first on the hunt for a family lawyer, it’s hard to know what you need to look for to ensure the best outcome for your divorce or child custody case. In this article, we will guide you through the first steps you will need to take to find the best family lawyer, and the questions you will need to ask both yourself and your new legal team before signing on the dotted line for a new legal team.
Search online
Searching online encompasses numerous routes. One obvious path is through search engines like Bing! And Google, Another optimum route is to use a site such as www.wiselaw.co.uk where you can type in the location of where you wish to find a solicitor and numerous relevant matches are presented to you. Commonly, platforms like this will offer you hundreds of reviews for each legal firm, along with star ratings to help you gain a better insight as to the level of service you can expect. Maps, addresses and location details are included in the content, as well as how you can get in contact and arrange that first appointment.
Look at reviews
Reading customers’ experiences through review sites and review sections on websites helps make smart decisions about any goods or services. Discovering more about the law firm or firms you have in mind is no different. Reviews platforms can give you numerous opinions and insights in one session. This can ultimately save you oodles of time not having to realise for yourself when a firm is not a good fit for your needs. Try looking into the area of law, for example, divorce, that you need representation om and see what former customers say on it. Today, there are so many choices of legal representation, flicking through a few reviews to get an idea of a solicitor’s services can accelerate the process for you.
Ask the right questions
An established and reputable family law firm should be well prepared for a multitude of preliminary questions you will undoubtedly have on your divorce or child custody case. However, you will probably need some time to put together questions. Often you will have the opportunity for a free consultation – to gain the most out of this, compile your questions beforehand so all areas are covered. Below are a few examples.
- How do you charge for your services?
One of the most important questions you will need to ask is how the payment structure works. Find out if you need to pay a set fee or if there is a ‘pay as you go’ option, you may even want to ask for a breakdown of fees.
- How will I be kept up-to-date on things?
Establish from the start the frequency at which you will be communicated with. Ask what you can expect in terms of the method of communication and the frequency of updates. You can also ask who will be the contact keeping you in the loop. It could be that a few different professionals are handling things for you, but ideally you should be given one main contact who communicates with you.
- What is your experience in divorce/child custody?
You’ve likely done your research on a company’s level of experience in the particular area of the law you need support on but it’s always worth asking the question if you haven’t.
- Expected timelines
An experienced lawyer will be able to give you an indication of how long your proceedings will take. They should go through exactly what will happen and expected timescales associated with each step.
