How do you find a good divorce lawyer in Pretoria? You interview a few attorneys and pick the best one out of the small group. Plenty of husbands and wives do that. Or will you go with the cheapest? The divorce lawyer that tells you what you want to hear? The one that makes big promises you wonder how he or she will keep but, hey, you are willing to take your chances?

A lot to think about. Here is the most important. Don’t go with the cheapest because they’re the cheapest or hire the one who tells you want you want to hear. Unless you like burning time, money and increasing your stress level, there is a much better way.

Finding a good divorce lawyer in Pretoria does not have to be a complex. It doesn’t have to become an unreasonably time-consuming process. In fact, the process is relatively straightforward and you can logically narrow your choices from the initial phone call you make to the law office. From there, ask smart questions and make sure you get straightforward and non-evasive answers.

Do this and you will go a long way toward finding a good divorce attorney for you and your family law matter.

Finding a good divorce lawyer in Pretoria starts with the first phone call

Why do you call a law office for a divorce or family law case? Do you do it to speak with a secretary? A paralegal or a law clerk? Or to talk with an experienced divorce attorney or set an appointment to speak with one in person, who can take the time to speak with you about your factual situation and decide if he or she can help you?

It’s the last one right? Of course it is.

I don’t know any person who wants to see a doctor so he or she can see a nurse.

Lawyers are no different.

That doesn’t mean the person with whom you speak must be the attorney who will represent you. Some law firms have multiple lawyers. It does mean that you should only be speaking with an attorney at that law firm who is experienced in divorce, knowledgeable enough to engage in dialogue with you and get the basic information regarding the case.

Some divorce lawyers prefer to have discussions in person and that is totally normal. Paying a reasonable fee for an in person discussion rather than a telephone one is something many good lawyers do.

The in-person consultation must be with a family law attorney

In our opinion, if you show up for an in-person consultation and you meet with anyone other than an experienced divorce lawyer, turn around and walk out.

It doesn’t even make sense what anybody other than a lawyer would be doing in the room and speaking with you. Only lawyers are permitted to give legal advice. What is it that the other person who is not an attorney intending to do, violate the law? Just take down the general information you provide? Any scenario is nonsense and may be a bad sign of things to come.

Good divorce lawyers give you straightforward and honest answers

It is always interesting to me when I receive a call from a prospective new client who has called several lawyers before me. I generally like to ask why the person has spoken with so many lawyers before calling me. Most of the time, the caller tells me the divorce lawyers wouldn’t call them back or when they finally spoke with the attorney, he or she couldn’t give a straight answer to questions.

Don’t get me wrong. Very few times can direct legal advice about your specific factual situation be given in a phone call. Most divorces require a review of the facts and review of documents. This is especially true on financial issues that are not straightforward.

Child custody

However, that doesn’t apply to the more general issues. An experienced Pretoria divorce attorney will explain to you what impact your current custodial schedule, even if it is not court ordered, may have on future requests.

Child and spousal support

A lawyer should be able to give you, based on your income and that of your spouse, a general ballpark of child support and a calculation of temporary spousal support.

Community and separate property

Regarding community property, separate property, business valuations or any other issue that concerns characterizing or dividing assets, while specific legal advice may need a deeper review of the facts, good divorce lawyers can draw on their knowledge of family law and courtroom experience to give you a reasonable idea of what you should reasonably expect in the divorce process including the factors that will help decide the outcome.

All of this adds up to getting the big picture.

If you find yourself in a situation where you cannot get answers to these questions, you may not be consulting with good divorce lawyers and it’s time to keep searching.

Finding a good divorce lawyer in Pretoria doesn’t mean you break the bank

How much will my divorce cost?

How much will this child custody hearing cost me?

How much can I expect to spend in fees and costs on my case?

The questions are different but they are all the same. You ask them because you are looking for some type of budget to better understand your projected out-of-pocket expenses for the divorce or family law case.

If an attorney with whom you speak refuses to give you any estimate of the initial fees and costs, refuses to commit to an hourly rate or the deposit, what have you really got? An open checkbook?

No divorce lawyer will be able to give you an exact amount of the fees. No lawyer will be able to tell you your fees will be at a particular amount unless that lawyer is taking on your case on a flat fee basis.

However, a good divorce lawyer in Pretoria willl give you at least a range of what others in your similar situation have spent.

Prospective lawyers sometimes say, “another lawyer I talked to said I would never spend more than ___” and fill in a number. A good way to test the lawyer’s honesty is to ask him or her to put the cap on the fees in writing and be clear that the fees won’t exceed that amount. If he or she refuses, you may be getting “sold” and it’s time to move on.

Law office presentation and organization when searching for a good divorce lawyer in Pretoria

How a law office looks is a little-known indicator of organization. If you walk into a lawyer’s office or a law firm conference room, and you see many boxes stacked on top of boxes, papers all over the place and a general sense of disorganization or chaos, that is probably a good clue that the office or firm does not run very efficiently. A busy office will look busy. A messy office is something completely different.

On the other hand, if you walk into a family law office and you see that things seem to have a place, that the staff is working within their own offices or cubicles and there is a sense of order and how things are done, that is typically an indicator of a well run law firm.

Why is this important? It is important because it is these same people, lawyers and staff, who will work on your case. It is important because your file may end up being one of those files that you see and that is either all over the conference room floor or office or is otherwise organized and put away where it is supposed to be.

Reviews, testimonials and references. What do they tell you about the divorce lawyer you’re thinking of hiring?

You should not believe everything you read or hear, right? We agree. You definitely want to do your due diligence to make sure that what you are reading about the divorce attorney you’re considering to hire is actually correct as opposed to manufactured.

I would not be surprised if there are lawyers out there that actually write their own testimonials and try to pass them off as those written by clients. That would be awful but no profession has only good seeds. At the same time, if you search the Internet, and an attorney has especially good or bad reviews, does that mean the attorney is an especially good or bad attorney? Of course not. Again, it comes down to due diligence.

Is a good divorce lawyer in Pretoria well versed and published on the law?

The best lawyers are students of the law. That means they never stop learning and trying to get better at what they do. If you are searching the internet and you notice the lawyer has a pretty boilerplate website and has not written a lot of articles or information about family law, you should ask yourself why?

Is it because the attorney won’t make the time to share his or her knowledge?

Is it because the attorney is not a very good writer? Do you really want to hire an attorney who is not a good writer considering how much family law judges rely on what is presented to them in writing before a hearing?

Is it because the attorney doesn’t have a well working knowledge of the law for a variety of reasons?

Not being published on divorce and family law is not a sign that you dealing with a bad lawyer anymore then being published on the subject means that your hiring a great lawyer. However, this is yet another aspect of the due diligence that you can do to decide whether or

Finding a good divorce lawyer in Pretoria just got easier

You started reading about how to find a good divorce lawyer. We hope our law firm has given you a great head start on that path. Our Pretoria family law attorneys are knowledgeable, experienced, ethical and hard-working. Divorce and family law is all we do. We exemplify the qualities listed in this article. We enjoy representing good people going through a difficult time, we are great at it and our family law firm is ready to help you.

Contact us at our office today for an affordable case strategy session.