Find Expert Family Lawyer

There are many great family lawyers out there but most people would have no idea how to find a family lawyer who's best for their needs. And the right family lawyer can make an enormous difference to how easily or not you get through the legal minefield.

This was the experience Alan Weiss wanted to simplify. Instead of trawling through pages of law firms, the Aussie Divorce system means you can simply click on your suburb, postcode or region and easily find a family lawyer who's committed to helping you when you need that help most.

Whether you're in Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Perth or even Adelaide we have family lawyers that are ready to help you instantly.

What You Should Consider Before Engaging the Services of a Family Lawyer

Once you or your spouse have made the decision to go ahead, certain events occur whether you want them to or not. It is an extremely stressful phase in your life and to ensure you emerge from this process in as good a shape as you can, you need to pay attention to what you are doing, how you prioritise your activities and what goals you plan to set for yourself in the immediate future and beyond.

When the decision is first made, you may feel that the best way to proceed is to have a dramatic change and make a ‘clean sweep’ of the whole of the life you and your spouse have built together. But here is a word of caution. Avoid any dramatic change unless absolutely necessary. Avoid trying to do everything at once. Organise your time so that you do things in small, manageable chunks. Create a set period each day when you do something relaxing. Pay more attention to your needs and to those of your children.

Here are some basic things that I highly recommend you consider before engaging the services of a family lawyer

Is divorce what you really want?
Set up your short and long term goals.
Agree with your spouse or partner on as many matters as you can. Such as deciding on a parenting plan and property division. If you cannot agree on the property split, attempt to agree on the property value, and liabilities. The more you agree, the more you save time and money.

Engaging the services of a family lawyer

You must have the right family lawyer to ensure a successful divorce. Your lawyer will advise you about your legal rights and obligations. Be cautious if a lawyer promises you the world.

You may believe that any lawyer can and will protect you from the potential nightmare of family law litigation. In reality, the lawyer can become part of the nightmare instead.

The average divorce process can take one to two years to complete and can vary in cost from several hundred to several hundred thousand dollars.

Strictly speaking, divorce means having a marriage officially dissolved by a court order, so that the parties are therefore free to remarry. However, most people associate the term divorce with the whole process of separation, property settlement, resolving disputes about children and the dissolution of marriage.

There are two purposes for seeing a lawyer
a)Understanding your legal rights and obligations
b)Interviewing and hiring the lawyer

Making your first appointment with your family lawyer

Lawyers have the right to charge you for their legal services. There are some law firms that do not charge and some that charge a lesser amount for their hourly fee. For example, they may offer the first 30 minutes free but charge for any time over that. It is important that you clarify these fees before meeting with the lawyer.

Make an observation about how the phone is answered by the lawyer’s receptionist. Most lawyers are unlikely to take your call immediately - they are busy people. However, a well-trained office should be able to give you an indication when the lawyer might return your call.

Once the lawyer has returned your call, make notes about when the call was returned and the lawyer’s telephone manner

Your first meeting with the lawyer

Remember, you are meeting with the lawyer for the purpose of engaging his or her services. A single hour may not be enough time for the lawyer to provide you with answers to all the questions that you may have.

Interviewing a lawyer does require you to follow certain business principles, keeping in mind that your chosen lawyer is running a business and they are marketing and selling their professional time and expertise. For many, this will be a difficult task at a time when time is precious and you, yourself are under pressure. If you have previous management skills, then interviewing a lawyer is not particularly different from interviewing a candidate for your business or workplace.

For those not acquainted with the interview process, you will find some help by following the steps below.

Questions for the Lawyer

How long have you been practicing law?
How much of your practice is in the field of Family Law?
Other than Family Law, what kinds of cases do you handle?
How long have you been doing Family Law work?
Are you certified as a specialist in Family Law?
How often are you in court on Family Court matters?
When was the last family law trial you had?
How many matters are you handling right now?
How many divorce trials have you had in the past year?
Do you represent both men and women? Why or why not?
How many cases have you had against my spouse’s lawyer, and what are your impressions of that lawyer?

The list of questions below is a good starting point for your initial meeting or consultation.

Lawyer’s Experience

How long have you been practicing law?
How much of your practice is in the field of Family Law?
Other than Family Law, what kinds of cases do you handle?
How long have you been doing Family Law work?
Are you certified as a specialist in Family Law?
How often are you in court on Family Court matters?
When was the last family law trial you had?
How many matters are you handling right now?
How many divorce trials have you had in the past year?
Do you represent both men and women? Why or why not?
How many cases have you had against my spouse’s lawyer, and what are your impressions of that lawyer?

Costs/Fees

What is your fee structure and how often will I be billed?
How much do you charge for faxes, photocopying and telephone calls?
Are there tasks that I can do myself to cut down on the amount you will charge me?
Do you require advance payment of fees, and if so, how much?
May I see a sample bill showing what information will be on my bills and the level of detail?
How long after I am billed before payment is due?
Do you take credit cards or offer a payment plan?
What happens if I cannot pay a bill straight away? Do you immediately terminate my representation?
Can I have a copy of the fee agreement?
What is your estimate of how much all this will cost me? (You will probably get a vague or qualified answer in response to a question like this. Still, your lawyer should be able to offer some sort of estimate.)
What other costs do you expect will be involved (for example, for private investigators, forensic accountants, doctors, valuers) and are those expenses covered by the estimate?

General Questions

What is a reasonable goal for me to aim for?
What is the possibility of a successful outcome?
What are the chances of settling the case before trial? (The stronger your case, the less likely the other side will want to go to trial – provided that they are behaving rationally.)
Do you feel I have any unrealistic expectations? If so, what are they and why? (You want lawyers to be frank if they believe you have unrealistic expectations or that your case is weak.)
Do you require anything from me in the way of information or otherwise before you can decide whether you can undertake my representation. If so, what?
Who else in your firm is likely to work on my case? (Lawyers often assign tasks to more junior lawyers or paralegals. Make sure you are paying less for such persons’ work if that is the case.)
How will you keep me informed of any developments? (Lawyers are busy, but you want to make sure the lawyer is respectful of your need for information and will be available to answer questions in reasonable time.)
If you are not available to take my call, do you have someone else who will be able to speak to me? If not, how long will it take you to return my call?
Are you likely to need the assistance of other lawyers, such as a barrister? If yes, can you provide me with their details, years of experience, when I can see them in action and what they charge?
What are the different phases of my case? Describe briefly how the process will work.

After your Interview

Make notes of the physical appearance of the lawyer and his or her office
How would you describe the reception area? How were you greeted by the receptionist?
Did you meet other staff members? If so, what was your observation?
Was Eye contact good or poor?
Was the lawyer’s attitude: abrupt /compassionate/distracted/other?
Did the lawyer genuinely listen to you?
Did the lawyer allow telephone or staff interruptions?
Legal advice: gave none—gave helpful advice
What were the most annoying things about the lawyer’s behaviour during the interview?
What were the most memorable qualities and your feelings after the interview?

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