Finding the right family law firm is just as important as selecting the right attorney. Unfortunately, if you’re a person looking for legal services, it might be hard to distinguish between seemingly similar law firms.
First things first, it’s essential that you seek a firm from your local area because laws can vary from state to state, especially when it comes to dividing marital or community property. For example, states like California believe that marital property should be divided equally between the spouses unless a premarital agreement specifies otherwise, so if you’re from Pasadena, it would be best if you narrow down your search to finding the best Pasadena family law firm to protect your legal rights rightfully.
However, even in California, there are thousands of law firms to choose from, bringing us to our article. In this brief post, we’ve taken the time to review some of the essential determinations to consider when selecting the right family law firm for your case.
Family Law Should Be The Firm’s Primary Practice Area
First of all, for any potential law firm, you should consider the areas of law in which the firm and its attorneys practice. Many firms choose not to specialize in any practice area, offering their services for a wide range of areas. Other firms focus on a niche practice area or perhaps a couple of related ones, and there are some benefits to both.
Nevertheless, for divorces, especially for divorces that include children, you will be better served by a firm specializing in family law. Besides, being well-versed in the subject matter is a massive advantage of specializing. In addition, specialized family law firms keep abreast of all changes in laws, rules, and regulations. Lastly, the chances are that a specialized law firm will have the needed experience handling issues similar to those in your case.
What About The Retainer?
The additional feature of a law firm that will undoubtedly affect your final choice is the firm’s retainer. Numerous firms will demand some retainer, coupled with a form of billing arrangement.
The retainer is commonly used to commence the attorney-client relationships and permits the attorney to start working on a particular case. Some family law firms will ask for a more considerable retainer and proceed to bill against the amount throughout the case until that amount is depleted, demanding another extra amount to be deposited. The firms seeking a smaller retainer will issue bills on an intermittent basis, which usually results in smaller costs on a more predictable basis.
Billing Arrangements
The next crucial aspect related to the cost of a law family firm can be classified as billing arrangements. This is practically how the charges will be accrued and how the client will be expected to deploy payments. This aspect should be extensively reviewed when selecting between multiple family law firms from the same place.
If the firm issues bills periodically, the client should consider their frequency because more frequent billing usually provides them with better predictability as amounts become due on a more regular basis. Longer billing cycles can result in more considerable amounts of money becoming due, albeit less frequently.
Additionally, as a potential client, you may want to consider how your payments will have to be made. Some law firms demand that amounts due should be paid in full, while others permit for some sort of payment arrangement in which the client is expected to pay a minimum amount due per bill. The main difference here is whether you want your bills to be paid overtime instead of all at once.
Firm Environment Can Be Crucial
Finally, the last piece of the puzzle when selecting the appropriate family law firm is associated with the potential firm’s structure. If the law firm is large, it may lack a personal touch which is not the most pleasant thing when dealing with family issues. On the contrary, a smaller or mid-sized firm will tend to include some degree of collaboration as the client may benefit from the expertise and opinion of multiple family law attorneys.
There are also solo practitioners of family law where these attorneys usually work alone and come with no support staff. Commonly, the ideal firm should fall somewhere in the middle. The proper selection should provide you with sufficient diversity and resources while also providing a sense of personal touch.
In Conclusion
Finding the right family law firm for your needs can be one of the most important decisions you can make when it comes to protecting your rights. Take time to review the options, always consider the firm’s practice area, how their retainers and billing arrangements are handled, and how they’re structured.
