Selecting a divorce attorney is a critical decision making

process. The person who you hire will be responsible for

obtaining or maintaining your custody rights to your children,

your property interests, and depending upon the side you are

one, either minimizing or maximizing your support rights.

In reality, selecting a divorce attorney is also an incredibly

stressful experience. Do it right and you can breath easy. Do

it wrong and you will spend years making up for losses that

might have been prevented.

There are a few tried and true tactics that you should be

using when you select a divorce attorney. Before you even

begin, you need to identify the type of case that you will be

involved in. Will you be mediating your divorce? Will you be

negotiating? Or, will your case be one of those cases that

goes to court and becomes a knock down, drag out divorce

litigation?

There are divorce attorneys who specialize in these different

types of cases and you need to hire the type of divorce

attorney who is best suited to the type of case that you have.

If you need to deal with a knock down, drag out litigation, you

do not want a mediation attorney trying to protect your

interests. Likewise, if you are going through mediation, the

last thing you want is a divorce attorney who will try to create

issues and move you towards litigation.

So, step one in the process of selecting a divorce attorney is

to identify the type of case that you have. Next, start asking

people for help. Since the divorce rate in the United States is

at about 50%, chances are you know at least several people

who have been through a divorce. Ask about their process,

how they selected a divorce

attorney, and how their attorney performed for them.

AFter you have received the names of several divorce

attorneys that you received from asking other people, go

online and start researching those attorneys and others.

Many divorce attorneys have websites, write articles, and

advertise on divorce portal websites. You can get quite a bit

of information about how an attorney approaches cases and

treats clients by reviewing their website.

After you have reviewed the divorce attorney websites, make

a list of at least two and as many as five divorce attorneys

who you think you will be comfortable speaking with. Call the

offices of those divorce attorneys and schedule consultations.

Some of those attorneys will charge you for a consultation;

the more experience the attorney has, the more likely that

you will have to pay for time with that attorney.

When you attend a consultation with a divorce attorney, be

prepared. Make an outline of the history of your marriage and

the problems facing you now. If you or your spouse has filed

any papers in court, make sure you bring them with you.

Bring one or two years tax returns or a recent financial

statement so that the divorce attorney can review some of

your financial data before being asked questions about

"results".

Make sure you ask each divorce attorney questions about

how that attorney's office operates in response to client

phone calls, emails, or other inquiries or needs. If you will be

working with a divorce attorney who has no other attorney in

their office, be prepared to wait in line when you have a need

for a response. That attorney will have other clients who

have needs just as significant as yours, and an attorney can

be responsive to only one client at a time. Even with that

drawback, there may be a divorce attorney who you feel is

just right for you who is also a solo practitioner. That is a

trade off that you may have to get comfortable with.

After you have completed all of the consultations and

reviewed the answers to all of your questions, decide which

divorce attorney you felt most comfortable with and which one

you believe will work with you to get the type of results that

you want.