The goal is to have five attorneys on your short list before you start interview for that special one to represent you. You may have already gathered attorneys from Fathers’ groups and attorneys from others friends and family. But what do you do if you still don’t have five? In other tips I encouraged you to take a day off and watch your judges in action. During that time you should have observed some attorneys working. Much like trying to hire the right person, you are going to do some pre-observation preparation. For this tip, I want you to dress in a suit, bring a book and a notepad, and sit at the court house. Your goal is to get the names of two to five good attorneys.
While you are doing your observations, you are going to be asking yourself: Could I get along with this attorney? Does this attorney communicate effectively with his client? Does this attorney appear to handle cases similar to mine? Do I like the demeanor and attitudes of this attorney? Would I be willing to listen to this attorney?
Spend the first hour in the court room hallway, second and third hours in the actual court room, and finally an hour by the attorney/client conference meeting area.
1) Start in the morning with the hallway outside the court room. You will witness clients and attorneys looking for each other. Watch carefully the interactions attorneys have with their clients, other attorneys and maybe even judges. Do they seem cordial to their clients? Are they talking and meeting with other attorneys? Do they seem well known and comfortable in this courthouse? Are they discussing and directing clients and witnesses? Do other people seem to know the attorney?
2) In the court room, you are watching potential attorneys conducting their case. Do they seem to know what they are doing? Are they respectful to the judge and other attorneys? Are most of their objections “sustained” (ruled in their favor) or “overruled” (not ruled in their favor). Are they organized? Do they have several clients or just one? Do they work alone or do they have an assistant?
3) Somewhere in the building, attorneys meet with their clients to discuss settlement offerings, debriefing on rulings, and general somewhat private conversation. Find this meeting place and sit and observe. How well does the attorney appear to be communicating information to their clients? Does council appear to be taking appropriate time to have client meetings? Is the attorney explaining things clearly? Does the lawyer appear to be listening as well? Does the attorney offer several options to the client? Is the representative making recommendations on what to do next?
During this process you are going to find lawyers you like and those you do not. Once you have found a potential candidate, go introduce yourself and ask for a business card. Most attorneys will be very flattered that you have taken the time to seek representation this way. Keep in mind you may be interrupting them while they attend to another client, so tell them you will call to setup a follow-up appointment.
Overall this may seem like a lot of unnecessary work. Nevertheless you will probably spend a great deal of time and money with this person. Ultimately, you are looking for an attorney that is local, well known in your court, and can do the work you desire. In future tips, we’ll talk about the specific questions you need to ask before hiring, but today you’re just adding to your list of potentials.
What are other suggestions for finding good attorneys? What would you add?
Copyright 2012. This is an excerpt from “Daddy Got Custody” by Fred Campos due out this summer. Make sure you subscribe to this blog.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Not that I’m in the market for a divorce lawyer, but this is excellent advice. The nature of my job calls for me to spend many, many hours in district court where I watch countless custody battles and other proceedings. And in watching the various lawyers at work, it is crystal clear who I’d want representing me if need be. Also, it’s easy to see who’s got the best relationships with the judge as well. And that makes a HUGE difference.
Great advice.
Thanks Daddy Files! I appreciate your feedback.
Mr. Campos
There is great advice here I wish I had years ago. I would like to link to this website for my readers. I have a website that deals with family adverstiy. Several articles are written about “Visitation” http://www.bit.ly/Vizit and “Child Support” http://www.bit.ly/c_support.if you would like to read them. Is your page available for a link to my site. “www.lifebyphil.com”? I would be very honored. Phone number is 208-625-0577. Thanks Phil
Phil,
No problem. In fact our blog and website are getting a face lift this week. We’ll have a links page and will be more than happy to add you. Helping families and dads is what we do too!
Hey Fred,
Wanted to get back in touch you regarding a possible interview with DadsDivorce.com about your upcoming book and blog you’ve put together. Like I said a few months ago the interview would take no more than 20 minutes and we would then post it as an article, online video, and podcast that would be available on
our site as well as iTunes. Our site reaches 50,000 divorced men and their loved ones a month and I’m sure our community would find your book interesting and informative.
Please let me know if you’re still interested and if we can set something up.
Thanks and look forward to hearing from you.
Matt Allen
Editor, DadsDivorce.com
Sorry Matt we are playing so much telephone tag. Keep trying, as I would be glad to help any way I can!
This is a really great post. As an attorney I can tell you that choosing your lawyer carefully is an important factor. I can readily admit that I am not the right fit with all clients (an easy example of this are dads who really don’t want custody but only to claim it to lower their child support) .
But I am also willing to bet that what got you your custody was not only that you were serious about keeping the best interest of your daughter in mind but also that you were engaged with your attorney (as you readily admit elsewhere in here)–many people think that getting an attorney is a lot like those Ron Popeil (sp) commercials…sort of “set it and forget it.” It most certainly isn’t. The client and the lawyer need to be able to work well together, and that means both need to be engaged in the case.
(I was looking on twitter for tweets about child support and saw your related tweet, which made me come over here. Imagine my surprise at finding a blog that talks about fathers getting custody but is not the standard gripe about how man get a bad deal in court! I totally agree, sometimes Dad is in fact the better parent–the key is what is in the best interest of the child. Kudos on your site).
Vivian,
thanks for the post. I agree with you, you have to be the best parent and look at your attorney as part of your team. He cannot do it without you and you must be very involved in your case. Finding an attorney that you work well with is a difficult but important task. Keep up the good work!