Good Divorce Lawyers: Part 2
On December 2, 2014, the Huffington Post published an article by Christina Pesoli called “Hey, Divorce Lawyers: You’re About to Get Fired!” Although the article was directed to lawyers, it could easily be used by clients as criteria for what good divorce lawyers do not do. Here is part 2 of my take on this article.
Your lawyer should keep you updated.
Sometimes during a divorce, there are periods of time while we wait for the other party to review material or we wait for a prescribed deadline for a response. If your lawyer doesn’t regularly update you on the status of your case, you will needlessly worry about whether your lawyer is “lazy, or unorganized, or forgetful, or too busy, or disinterested, or undependable, or unethical.” You have enough going on without having to worry about your lawyer being adequately involved in your case.
I find that the most cost-effective and easiest way to keep my clients informed is to use e-mail if my clients have access to it. With e-mail, I can let my clients know immediately what has been filed in their case, as well as forward any documents to them. This gives them peace of mind knowing that they have the most-current information on their case at all times.
Your lawyer should not drop stuff on you at the last minute.
Sometimes your lawyer may need you to write a statement or provide her with information at the last minute. But, in general, I believe it is best to respect my clients’ time. I let my clients know what will come next and what information I will need to effectively carry out my duties. I don’t want to derail my clients’ lives by giving them surprise paperwork related to their divorce. My clients pay me to make their lives simpler, not to ruin a weekend with a last-minute project.
If your attorney is giving you many last-minute “jobs,” your lawyer may not be devoting enough thought toward the preparation of your case.
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