Four Reasons You Should Always Take Advantage of a Free Consultation Before you Hire Your Oregon Family Law Attorney

Most family law attorneys in today’s day and age offer some form of free consultation for prospective clients.  This can be critical for both sides, although some attorneys still do not offer this service. We have four reasons we think it is very important to take advantage of the free consultation with a divorce lawyer before hiring them.

A Free Consultation With a Divorce Lawyer Can Help Set the Correct Path for the Divorce

First, from the family law attorney‘s perspective, I find it extremely helpful to be able to immediately and quickly point a client in the right direction.  I can almost always offer same day telephone consultations, whereas face to face meetings can take a few days to schedule.  The first few days can be critical to ensuring you put yourself on the right track heading into your potential divorce or custody case.  In a brief telephone call, I can usually ensure that a client isn’t making a horrible, irreversible decision in the early stages of their case.

A Free Consultation With a Family Law Attorney Helps Determine Good Fit

Secondly, free consultations are also a great opportunity for me to make sure that my services are going to be a good fit for the client.  Many times, I will get a call from a potential client who simply needs to be directed elsewhere.  Sometimes this is because I believe a different attorney might have a specialty that would be more helpful to the client.  Sometimes the initial conversation leads me to know that Oregon isn’t even able to hear the case due to jurisdictional issues.  It seems a horrible waste for a potential client to spend hundreds of dollars and a week of their life waiting, just to be told that they need to then call someone else.

A Better Understanding of the Overall Cost of a Divorce Can Often be Estimated in a Free Consultation With a Divorce or Custody Lawyer

Third, financially it can be hugely important for the clients to understand what the overall cost of their case might be.  Being able to plan out your financial situation, ensure that you can afford the divorce attorneys services, and get a picture of how much your total cost might be can only be accomplished in a conversation with your potential attorney.  Nobody is helped if the client starts the case with unrealistic expectations of the total cost.  The client will be very upset that these things weren’t disclosed early, and the family law lawyer doesn’t want to have an angry client that could have been avoided by a full disclosure up front.  I would much rather lose a client who knows they can’t afford to hire me, than have a client upset later that they weren’t told what their costs would be.

The Free Consultation With a Divorce Attorney Helps Decide if You Communicate Well With that Lawyer

Lastly, as so much rides on the outcome of your case, communication is key.  The style of communication and personality is often as important as hiring the “best” lawyer.  Most divorce and custody lawyers are good at their job.  It can be beneficial to the client’s peace of mind if they feel they can easily understand their lawyer’s explanations.  It also can be beneficial to the lawyer if they feel like the client is hearing what they are saying.  Having some form of good working relationship  based on a personality match can go a long way towards reducing your stress, and getting a positive result from your case.  A brief consultation allows that “feeling out process” on both sides to occur.

A few other articles you may find helpful in the beginning stages of choosing an Oregon family law attorney to help you with your divorce or custody case:

5 Mistakes to Avoid When Hiring a Portland Divorce Attorney

Top 5 Most Asked Questions About Oregon Custody

5 Reasons to Hire an Attorney Rather Than do Your Own Divorce or Custody Paperwork

Picking the Right Divorce Attorney for YOU.

3 Advantages and Disadvantages of Filing for Divorce First

Portland family law attorney Tom Brasier is an experienced divorce and custody lawyer working in the greater Portland, Oregon and SW Washington area. Tom offers a free consultation to new clients seeking a family law attorney. Please contact Brasier Law at 1 (503) 855-4777 or fill out the contact form below with any questions or to set up a consultation.