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association of divorce lawyers, and your local bar association surely does. They very often have referral services. The downside to these services is that the lawyers who place themselves on the referral panels sometimes do so because they are inexperienced or have difficulty getting clients. But this is not always the case, and at the very least you can be assured that the bar association will have made sure that the lawyers are licensed to practice law and have professional liability (malpractice) insurance.

Other options for finding lawyers include the divorce websites listed in Chapter 16. These sites often have lawyer directories and may also have chat rooms where you can ask for recommendations. There's also a lawyer directory at www.nolo.com, which provides quite detailed profiles of listed lawyers.

No matter how you search for lawyers, check with your state's regulating agency (usually the state bar) to make sure the lawyer hasn't been disciplined and to confirm their education and experience. It's a good idea to do a search on them on Google or another Internet search engine.

Interviewing Lawyers

Nothing substitutes for a personal interview. Think about what you want to know from your lawyer and how you want your lawyer to treat you, and then make appointments with a few prospects. A lawyer who is going to earn a lot of money on your divorce case should be willing to spend some time with you while you check out whether you two are a good fit.

Conflicts of interest may keep you from your lawyer of choice. Don't be surprised if an attorney you contact declines to consult with you.

You may or may not learn why, but in most cases it will be because your spouse has already consulted that lawyer. The lawyer shouldn't tell you that your spouse has been there, because that would violate confidentiality rules-most likely you'll just be told that the lawyer's not available. The same would be true if your spouse contacted a lawyer you had already spoken to, and to whom you gave confidential information about your marriage or divorce.

Some lawyers offer brief initial consultations free of charge so that you and the lawyer both have a chance to decide whether or not to work together. Others charge for the consultation, especially if they are giving you strategic advice about your case. Here's a list of suggested questions to add to the ones you already have, to help you figure out what kind of lawyer you're talking to. You may be able to get answers to some of the basic questions about education and length of time in practice by checking out your lawyer's website or the website of the state bar association.

Don't ignore your gut feelings about the lawyers you interview. If you think the lawyer isn't a good fit, you're probably right.

Questions to Ask a Potential Lawyer

• How long have you been in practice?

• How long have you been doing family law?

• How many family law cases have you completed?

• Do you do any other kinds of cases? What kinds?

• Who else in your office would be working on my case? Under what circumstances would someone other than you work on my case? What will the charges be?

• Can I expect to have my phone calls and messages returned within 24 hours by you or someone on your staff?

• How many divorce cases have you brought to trial?

• How often do your divorce cases go to mediation?

• Do you encourage people to mediate their disputes?

Questions to Ask a Potential Lawyer (continued)

• Are you a certified specialist in family law? (Check your state bar's website first to find out whether your state grants certification.)

• Have you published any articles about family law?

• Are you familiar with the judges and the courts in the county where my divorce will be filed?

• Do you believe that kids should ever testify in a divorce trial? (If this is something you want to protect your kids from, asking this up front is a good idea-you don't want to argue about it on the eve of trial.)

• Are there attorneys in the community with whom you have particularly good or particularly bad relationships?