Making the decision regarding which attorney will represent you during your divorce can be a stressful experience in itself. But how do you sort through the hundreds of legal professionals in the San Diego area to determine which one is right for you and your family? The task itself seems daunting, but there are a few quick ways to help you narrow down your choices and ultimately retain the services of a skilled San Diego divorce attorney who will provide you with the best possible service.

Consider Their Practice

The nature of an attorney’s practice can be perhaps the biggest indicator of the service you will receive during your case. For divorce cases, we strongly recommend avoiding general practice attorneys. While many of them are excellent lawyers, general practice attorneys have a little bit of knowledge in a lot of legal areas, but often do not have the detailed legal practice experience and focus that a dedicated family lawyer can provide you with. Lawyers who focus specifically on divorce and family law cases are generally better-equipped to handle a high-stress divorce and long courtroom litigation battles that may be necessary.

Likewise, the size of their firm will tell you a lot about the experience you will receive, and there are pros and cons to both. A small firm usually tends to give you more personalized service (unless they take on far too many cases at once). However, they are sometimes limited in the resources they can place at your disposal. Large firms can be exactly the opposite: the service you receive can sometimes suffer due to bigger caseloads, but they also do usually boast far more resources they can put to work for you, so you can expect a knowledgeable and skilled attorney on your case.

Consider the Cost

It’s no secret that a divorce can be tremendously expensive, so it’s important to hire an attorney who’s not going to further drain you of your financial resources. If you doubt that you will be able to afford the full retainer fee up front, let an attorney you are considering hiring know during your initial consultation— some attorneys will create payment plans with clients.

However, it is not advised that you go the route of a low-cost divorce service. These firms are usually staffed with inexperienced or underqualified legal professionals who are not prepared to handle a complex or difficult case. This in turn will only lead to more headaches for you and a result you likely will not be happy with.

Read Reviews

What’s the best way to tell the quality of a firm? Read what former clients have to say. Reviews on popular sites like Yelp, Google, or even Facebook are a valuable resource when making your decision. If an attorney has consistently low ratings on Yelp, you may want to avoid them. Likewise, peer-review sites like Avvo and Mardinale-Hubbell® can provide some great insight as to how an attorney compares to their peers.

If you are facing a divorce, contact the skilled San Diego divorce attorneys at Fair Cadora, APC. Our team has considerable experience, having helped hundreds of clients through the often-complicated and stressful California divorce process. We tackle each case using a highly-personalized approach that places the needs of our clients first, and push for a quick and easy resolution that will leave you completely satisfied with the results and happy with your new living circumstances.

Please call the firm today to schedule a consultation to discuss your options.