Hiring a Divorce Lawyer: Dos and Don'ts On Your Initial Consultation

Sep 10
09:17

2012

Ace Abbey

Ace Abbey

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If you're ready to hire a divorce lawyer, you may have to go through the process of the "initial consultation". Here are some of the "do's and don'ts" of this meeting.

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If you're ready to hire a divorce lawyer,Hiring a Divorce Lawyer: Dos and Don'ts On Your Initial Consultation Articles you may have to go through the process of the "initial consultation". Sometimes free and sometimes available for a nominal fee, these meetings are designed to act as a feeling out process for both the attorney and the client. If this is your first time hiring an attorney, you may not know quite what to expect. Talk to the firm you're meeting with and let them tell you what you should bring to the meeting. Beyond those basics, here are some of the "do's and don'ts" of the initial consultation. Follow these guidelines and you'll do better.

DON'T: Bring the kids with you.

Unless you have no other choice (which is unlikely), you should leave the kids at home or with someone else when you take your meeting. An initial consultation is an important business meeting. You wouldn't bring a kid into your board meeting at work and they don't belong here, either. This is a confusing issue for many parents, made more so perhaps by the fact that these attorney's often have "Family Attorney" written on the sign. But that doesn't mean they double as a day care. You're about to make an important decision and you shouldn't have to worry about snapping at your kids in the middle of mulling it over.

DO: Bring questions with you.

You may want to leave the kids at home, but you'll definitely want to bring a list of questions with you for your initial consultation. Once you get in the office and in front of the lawyer, it's easy for all of your carefully crafted questions to disappear in a wave of anxiety. Isn't that always the way? This is your chance to find the answers to all of your nagging queries, so make sure you come to the meeting prepared. If necessary, write the questions down and bring them with you so that you have something to consult. You can note down some of the answers as well so you can reflect later.

DO: Be cautious about bringing a friend.

One of the great things about meeting with a lawyer of any kind is the attorney/client privilege that immediately goes into effect. In order to be truthful, you'll need to embrace that confidentiality. Having a friend there can be helpful from a moral support standpoint, but it will remove that privilege, obviously. Your friend isn't bound by any such terms, which could stifle what you feel you can say. Think about this before deciding who you should bring.

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