Six Red Flags to Keep an Eye Out for if You Hire the Wrong Attorney
Posted on: February 18, 2020
Finding the right family law attorney can have a huge impact on the outcome of your case. At Law Office of Michael L. Fell, we have worked with many clients who have had poor experiences with other attorneys. These are six of the red flags that often indicated they had chosen the wrong attorney.
- The Case Seems Wholly Unimportant to Your Attorney At the end of the day, it is your life and you cannot expect that your attorney is going to care as deeply as you do. That said, they should care. It should be a priority for them. If it seems that every time you talk to them, they have not thought much or prepared for your case, this is a red flag. Remember that they are going to be the one who has to convince a judge to rule in your favor.
- Your Attorney is Not Communicating Well If you find yourself constantly aggravated with the lack of communication with your attorney, then you do not have the right attorney. You should be kept in the loop at every step of the process. If you feel that you are being ignored then you should try to talk to them about it. If this does not work then it may be time to find a new attorney.
- There Are Conflicts with Your Personalities Lawyers can have a wide range of personalities. You may be a low-energy person who does not like a high-energy, aggressive attorney. You may be a high-energy person who sees a passive attorney as a weak one. There is nothing wrong with factoring in the personality of an attorney when deciding if you should work with them or not.
- They Are Not Organized Does your attorney always forget about times you have set up for phone calls? Can they never find the paperwork they are looking for? Are they always late? These are signs that they are not going to provide the best legal representation. Remember that many situations within family law have deadlines, such as filing for modifications.
- Confusing Billing You will be billed either hourly or on contingency. With a family law case, it should be hourly. Your attorney should provide clear bills so that you know who was working on your case and what they were doing.
- They Act Unethically This is a no-brainer – if an attorney acts unethically, then you should not work with them. This is true even if their unethical behavior would be to your advantage. For example, if they say they know how to hide assets so they can never be found, you should find a new attorney. It is not worth the potential financial and criminal consequences of being caught. You can contact Law Office of Michael L. Fell now at (949) 585-9055 to speak to a family law attorney who can provide a free legal consultation right away.
