A Guide To Interviewing Family Law Lawyers In Melbourne

When you are in need of family law lawyers in Melbourne, it is important that you interview three or four before making your final decision to ensure that you are choosing one who will be able to represent you the way you would like. In the interview, you should have a list of questions prepared so that you can compare the responses provided by each of the lawyers that you are considering hiring. Some of the questions that you might like to ask include:

• How many cases have you dealt with that involve family law? And how successful were each of these cases?

This will give you a fairly good idea of how adept the lawyer is at handling cases similar to yours. Someone with a good track record, for instance, would be a good choice.

• How long have you been practicing law? How long have you been specializing as a family lawyer?

This will give you a good indication of how much experience the lawyer has. Keep in mind that some people may change their areas of expertise at some point down the track, so asking the second question will ensure that you have all bases covered.

• How much do you require for a retainer fee? How much do you charge per hour?

Whilst you shouldn’t always opt for the cheapest lawyer (you get what you pay for after all), having an idea of how much each firm is going to charge you can really put their services into perspective in terms of your available budget.

• What do you think my chances of winning this case are?

This is always a good question to ask, as you are encouraging the lawyer to be honest about your likelihood of winning. If none of the firms interviewed are overly confident, then you might want to consider whether you want to take legal action at all.

• Will I be dealing directly with you and you only, or will someone else also be handling my case?

For some firms, the lawyer that you speak with initially may not be the person who ends up preparing your case or representing you in court; you should always find out whether this is the case. If it is, you might like to speak with the person whom you will be dealing with.

These are just some of the questions that you might like to ask a family law lawyer in Melbourne; there are plenty more that you might like to know the answers to, including: has the lawyer ever had any complaints filed against them, how many clients do they work with at any given time, and so on. Once you have interviewed all of your candidates, you can compare their answers to reach a decision.