Arlington And Fairfax Divorce Attorneys Claudia J. Zucker
Having practiced as a family law attorney in the Fairfax area of northern Virginia for over twenty years, much of my business is referred to me by existing or past clients, but not all individuals who are seeking divorces have friends who can give them solid referrals. In some cases, the person you are asking may have had a bad experience with his or her divorce lawyer. In others, the complexion of their legal issues were completely different than your situation, and the attorney that your friend used may not be right for your case. There are a number of factors that you can use to narrow down your choices of family law attorneys.
Experience – Although many people hope that their divorce will not be costly or expensive, many times that is out of your control if the other side is unreasonable. Very few people truly have no issue divorces. If you have children, or military benefits, there are a number of additional factors that will impact your divorce settlement. Choosing a divorce lawyer with experience may not give you an additional edge in every case, but it also won't hurt you.
Geography – If your a resident of Fairfax or Manassas, there is not point in seeking out a divorce lawyer who works in the west end of the state no matter how good he or she is. Find a divorce attorney in your area. Furthermore, the laws of Virginia are very different than the surrounding states, so make sure that your divorce attorney is admitted to practice in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Web Presence – Nearly all family law attorneys—and lawyers in general, for that matter—have a website on the Internet. Whether you've been referred to an attorney or you are interested in one that has shown up in a Google, Yahoo, or Bing search, his or her site should have some basic information: areas of practice, attorney profiles, et cetera. Review sites can be a useful tool, but it's important to be aware that a lawyer's rating can be drastically reduced by even a single bad review from a competitor or a party on the other side who didn't like the outcome of his or case and blames the spouses attorney. My advice is not to rely to heavily on attorney rating sites, but if you do use one, only consider scores that result from at least a half-dozen reviews on a specific attorney.
Specialties – If you are aware that you have a specific family law issues, such as child relocation or alimony from a member of the military, it's important that your divorce/family attorney is familiar with your type of case. It's perfectly acceptable to ask a lawyer that you've contacted a question like, "My spouse is deployed overseas. Have you ever handled a military divorce with a deployed spouse before?" Chances are good that if they haven't, they may be able to refer you to a colleague who has.
Virginia Divorce and Family Law Attorney Claudia Zucker
Do you need help selecting a Divorce Attorney Virginia? We invite you to contact us today at (703) 596-1005. We're always just a phone call away.
