Nine Things to Look for When Retaining a New Jersey Divorce Attorney

The decision to seek an end to your marriage is difficult. An aspect of seeking a marriage dissolution is the need to retain effective, experienced legal representation. With this in mind, there are nine primary things to bear in when you are seeking a New Jersey divorce attorney:

• Targeted experience
• Excellent communication
• Solid rapport
• Ready availability
• Legal fees and costs
• Location of counsel
• Associated staff
• Licensing status
• Referrals

In looking for the most suitable New Jersey divorce attorney, you will want to focus closely on the specific experience of that legal counsel. What this means is that you need to ensure that a prospective New Jersey divorce lawyer has professional experience with the specific types of issues you face in your marriage dissolution case. For example, if you are heading into a high-asset divorce, you want to be certain that a potential attorney has a background with these types of proceedings.

When considering potential lawyers, you need to pay heed to communication related issues. What this means is that you want to focus on selecting a New Jersey divorce attorney that has excellent communication skills and abilities. You need legal counsel that has a demonstrable ability to maintain appropriate, regular communication with a client. You need to be sure that you understand what an attorney is telling you. You need counsel that is available to respond to your questions and concerns.

If you are seeking legal representation from a New Jersey divorce lawyer, the initial consultation can be a very valuable session. During a free initial consultation with legal counsel, you are able to obtain answers to questions and learn more about the New Jersey divorce process. Significantly, meeting with a prospective lawyer also permits you the ability to ascertain whether or not you believe that you will be able to develop a positive rapport with an attorney. The better the rapport you are able to establish with a lawyer the more enhanced the prospects that you will develop a positive professional relationship with that marriage dissolution attorney.

Another factor to bear in mind is how accessible and available a divorce lawyer will be during your case. Odds are that if you select a capable divorce attorney, that individual will maintain a significant caseload. With that said, some attorneys simply are better at managing their caseloads. These types of lawyers also tend to be more readily available to their clients, including when clients have questions or concerns about their cases.

There can be some variation in what New Jersey divorce attorneys charge their clients for professional services. You want to be certain that you understand the financial aspects of engaging a lawyer, including:

• Amount of retainer
• Hourly fee
• Case costs for which you bear responsibility

The location of legal counsel’s offices or firm is an important consideration. Even in this pandemic area when a considerable amount of business of all types is transacted virtually, there will be instances in which you will be called upon to meet with your divorce attorney at the firm.

Consider the associated staff maintained by a divorce lawyer. This includes finding out if a paralegal or legal assistance will be your primary point of contact for more routine matters during the course of representation.

As part of screening a potential attorney, you may want to ascertain whether an attorney has been sanctioned in the past by the state licensing authority. If there has been some sort of issue in the past, you can ask the attorney about the issue. A reputable lawyer will be candid with you and provide straightforward answers to any questions you present.

The next step in retaining a suitable New Jersey divorce attorney is to schedule a free initial consultation. You can arrange a free initial consultation and case evaluation with an experienced divorce lawyer by calling the Law Offices of Peter Van Aulen at 201-845-7400. We can schedule a free initial consultation for you at a time that best meets your needs.