Hiring a professional child custody attorney might just be one of the most important decisions you can make in your lifetime. You need to be highly selective, as this person will be representing you and your children in court, which will have lifelong consequences. There are all kinds of attorneys out there, with different educational backgrounds, skills and experience. They also charge a wide range of fees. For this reason, it can be difficult deciding who you want to hire as your Child Support Lawyer. Search online for child custody attorneys in your area. Compare services offered with their skills and experience. Make a list of your top three choices. Before signing any paperwork or paying a retainer fee, there are three things you should do to ensure you make the right choice.
1. Look into your attorney’s background. Find out if they have ever been sanctioned for misconduct or a violation of ethics. While some states require that their attorneys be in good standing in order to practice law, others will simply punish the attorney and allow them to practice normally. Find out if they have any grievances filed against them leading to a suspension, probation or any other punishments. You will want to know everything there is to know about your lawyer that may affect how they operate in a court of law, including their character and how competent they are in their line of work.
2. Find a lawyer whose practice is focused primarily on family law. In this case, you do not want a jack-of-all-trades. Laws change all of the time, so you want an attorney who is familiar with these changes and knows the ins and outs of family law like the back of their hand. Your lawyer should be very experienced and knowledgeable in this specific area of law. You will want to ask them if they focus just on family law or what percentage of their time they focus on family law. You will also want to know how many years they have practiced family law to ensure you are hiring someone who truly knows what they are doing.
3. Once you meet with your prospective attorney and their entire legal team, find out if they are the person who will be handling your case. It is very common for some attorneys to hand you off to someone else in their firm after you have paid your retainer fee. This can be frustrating if you have developed a rapport with a specific lawyer.
It is very important that you choose your family lawyer very carefully. Always interview the attorney and their team before paying any fees or signing any contracts. Look at their qualifications and historical cases to try to determine how well they will represent you. Your whole case may depend on the abilities of your lawyer, so it is a very serious decision. While they won’t be able to tell you all of the specifics of previous cases due to client confidentiality, they should be able to provide you with general data and statistics.
Hire a professional Child Support Lawyer like S. Dixon Law Offices and have your day in court. Visit http://sdixonlaw.com for more information.
