Hiring a Divorce Attorney

Hiring an attorney is a pretty scary thing. Even picking up the phone to call and get some preliminary information is terrifying for some people—myself included! I really prefer to do things as anonymously as possible, especially in preliminary stages. I understand that asking for information is difficult, and that you’re feeling a little afraid of opening Pandora’s Box. Are you asking questions, making decisions, or taking steps, that you can’t take back later?
Still, at some point, you have to make the decision to protect yourself by getting the up to date, Virginia specific information you need to make the types of decisions you need to be making about your future, and the only way to do that is by reaching out. You can search the Internet, of course, but it’s risky trusting too much to a nameless, faceless Internet source. You want to be sure that the information you’re reading is (1) factually correct, (2) timely, and (3) state specific, or else it just won’t help you at all—at least as far as your divorce or custody case in Virginia is concerned.
If you’re facing a divorce or custody case, probably one of the first questions you’ll have is whether or not you should hire an attorney to represent you. And how do you even begin to get an answer to that question? There aren’t a lot of attorneys out there giving out free advice and, if they do, their advice is certainly going to be, at the very least, “talk to an attorney one-on-one in an initial consultation to find out whether you need an attorney.” Obviously, most attorneys are going to go to lengths to convince you that, yes, you do need to hire an attorney and, obviously, the attorney you hire should be them.
We do things a little bit differently, for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, though, we really want to make sure our clients are informed. We’ve found, over the years, that the happiest people are the ones who had the information they needed up front to make a careful, considered decision with respect to their case. They got all the information on their own, and they independently made the decision to hire our law firm to represent them. We don’t use manipulation or scare tactics to convince them they’d be lost without us; we give them the information they need and, ultimately, leave the choice up to them.
That’s why, when I first started, one of my projects was to write a book about how to make the decision whether to hire an attorney (or not). Believe it or not, “or not” really IS an option! I wrote “The Woman’s Guide to Hiring an Outstanding Divorce and Custody Lawyer” to help women begin to gather the information needed to make that decision. It’s a pretty quick read, but it’s jam-packed with interesting facts and tidbits you’ll want to know if you’re wondering whether or not you can just do it on your own.
In my book, you’ll learn
• The questions you should be asking an attorney in an initial interview.
• How attorneys are ranked (so you can tell the good from the bad).
• Your divorce options (including do it yourself, in case you decide NOT to hire an attorney at all!)
• 6 easy ways to save money on your attorney’s fees.
• What your first steps should be!
Not only that, but in the book you’ll also find a scorecard designed to help you rank and compare attorneys when you go into their office for your initial consultation. That way, you can see, at a glance, how attorneys stack up against each other (believe me, we’re not all created equal).
It’s a difficult decision; there’s no question about it. But there’s no reason you should go into an initial consultation uninformed—that wastes time and money! Unless you can afford to go all around town to consult with a bunch of different attorneys, you probably want to do your research ahead of time so that you can be sure to pick the right attorneys to meet with from the start.
Request your free copy of my book today and you’ll immediately receive an electronic copy of the book, delivered directly to your inbox. If you live in our immediate area, you’ll get another email soon after, asking if you’d like to fill in your physical address so that we can send you a hard copy of the book. You can provide whatever address you like—your parents, a neighbor, sister, or friend—but make sure it’s spouse-safe. We always ship our books in plain, white envelopes, so you can’t tell what’s inside, but we’ll send it wherever you tell us.
It’s yours at no cost, so you can write in it, dog ear the pages, or lend it to a friend when you’re done with it. It’s yours, because we think it’s important to provide as much education as possible, so that Virginia women are able to make these kinds of informed decisions.
If you have any questions about the book, want to hear more about our seminars and other upcoming events, or just want to schedule an appointment with one of our attorneys, give our office a call at (757) 425-5200.