Selecting an attorney is a highly subjective process. Even the State and Parish Bar Associations won't officially rate their peers. If you contact them personally, they will likely provide you with a list of several attorneys qualified to handle your case. Selecting a divorce attorney becomes even more difficult based on the type of divorce. You must first ask yourself whether the divorce is an amicable or acrimonious one. That will tell you whether or not you're looking for a lawyer who is better at mediation or one who is a shark. From there, there are additional ways to determine the best lawyer for your case.
Peer Reviews
The Martindale-Hubbel peer review reflects the opinions of other attorneys and rates peers on their professional standards of conduct, ethics, reliability and diligence as established by the American Bar Association. Fellow lawyers also evaluate the legal knowledge of their peers in their special areas of practice. The result is a numerical rating, which includes demographic information. To find the highest-rated attorney in your area of Louisiana, go to the Martindale-Hubbel peer review link in the Reference section.
Client Reviews
Client reviews of a lawyer's performance can be just as important as those of an attorney's peers. Clients provide information on their degree of satisfaction with a particular attorney concerning ability to explain a case so that it was easily understood, timeliness in response to queries and issues, and the priority the clients felt their cases were given. They also evaluate overall satisfaction compared to the cost. Go to the Martindale-Hubbel client reviews link in the Reference section.
Contact Your Local Bar Association
A phone call to your local Bar Association in Louisiana should also provide a number of suggestions on where to start looking for qualified attorneys in your area. They usually won't rate them, but will present you with a list of attorneys the local Bar feels are qualified to handle your case.
Interview the Lawyer
Set up an initial consultation. In the end, it's your comfort level and degree of satisfaction that matter most. You may want to winnow the list first by determining if there is a consultation fee. That in itself may be off-putting enough to interview another attorney.
Regardless, some of the things you will want to know are whether the lawyer has litigated cases like yours before, particularly if there are unusual circumstances involved. How long can you expect the case to last and what can you expect to pay? If you have questions during the process, how quickly can you expect an answer? Has the attorney ever been disciplined or suspended from practice? If so, why? Will he follow your wishes even if they are contrary to his recommendations?
Word of Mouth
It is more than likely you know of someone else who has gone through the divorce process in Louisiana. Contact that person and ask her what she thought of the attorney that handled her case. Ask if she knows of any other attorneys who were recommended to he and why she didn't use a different attorney.
