How do I find a good family law attorney?

I have spent much time considering this question. If I knew what I know now about attorneys and moved to a new location and knew no one in town I would be frightened to death to select an attorney based solely upon advertising. For many years I spent little or nothing in advertising believing that those attorneys who advertised the most and biggest needed business the most. If they are in such need one must question how good they are! The best way to select an attorney is to talk to numerous people who have been represented, get a referral. Even this is not a fool proof method. It is my estimate that 90% of the people that call me, do so because I did a good job for someone they know or because they were referred by an attorney who knows me.

You could also consult the Martindale legal directory, which rates attorneys as to their competence and ethics. This directory may list an attorneys’ associations and areas of practice. Make sure that the attorney that you may select is rated by Martindale-Hubbell as “av” or “bv”. If you are looking for a family law attorney, make sure he or she is a member of the family law section of that states’ bar association. That membership indicates a high interest in family law.

I would also urge you to select an attorney who has been practicing family law for at least 10 years. The area of family law is highly complex. This is because a good competent family law attorney must have a range of knowledge from business valuations to stock options to pension plans to child psychology and family dynamics to income taxation (I could go on and on). There is virtually no area of law about which a family attorney need not have some knowledge. At the very least an experienced family law attorney will have many contacts and if he or she does not have the answer, has a person or persons that can be called to get the answer. Experience counts. Attorneys are educated to be able to express themselves and communicate at a high level. They are also good “bullshitters.” Be careful.