Services
Two Recommendations:
- Consult with a family law specialist sooner rather than later. It is never too early to gather information and advice.
- Shop for the right attorney for your circumstances. Not only do you need an ethical and skilled family law attorney, but you want one you trust—and with whom you can communicate honestly, even when the proverbial skeletons fall out of the closet.
Legal services come in many shapes and sizes. Most family law attorneys offer consultations without the obligation to hire that attorney to represent you in your family law matter. After all, your case may not be ripe for on-going representation or you may resolve your marital issues after you know your rights and the applicable law.
Once you determine that you need the on-going guidance of an attorney and settle on the right one for you, you will retain the attorney to represent you through the course of your case. There are two primary avenues of resolving family law cases: litigation and collaborative law. Attorneys may limit their practices to one or the other, or offer both. There are variations on those two avenues: mediation (a method of settlement negotiations), arbitration (similar to litigation, but with a paid professional in the role of a judge), and unbundled legal services (legal representation limited to specific tasks).