In the U.S., lawyers in general aren’t terribly difficult to find. We’re the 5th most litigious country in the world, after all. According to the ABA, “Over the past decade, the number of lawyers nationwide has grown by more than 63,000 – an increase of 5% from 2013 to 2023.”
When you’re specifically looking for a divorce lawyer, that, too, shouldn’t be too difficult since there’s an adequate number of divorce attorneys to handle the roughly 50% of married Americans who will experience divorce. If you’re in California and looking for a divorce lawyer, there are even more choices. Of the 58,087 total divorce and family law businesses in 2023, 22,721 of them were in California – more than any other state.
But if you’re like most people contemplating divorce, you’re not looking for just any divorce lawyer, you’re looking for a good divorce lawyer.
How to find a good divorce lawyer.
Finding a good divorce lawyer in California begins with defining what makes a good divorce lawyer good. Here are a handful of ways to figure that out.
At the most basic level, make sure the lawyer you’re looking for is a family law lawyer licensed to practice in the state of California and is in good standing with the State Bar. You can find that out by asking for their California bar license number and looking them up on the State Bar website or by calling the State Bar at 800-843-9053.
Next, get a handful of recommendations from people you trust. With roughly half of all marriages in the U.S. ending in divorce, the chances are good that you know someone who’s divorced. Ask them about their experience. If they were happy with their divorce lawyer, dig a little deeper. Ask if they were happy with their outcome; if they felt they received good advice and were well-represented; if their lawyer was responsive when they needed to get in touch. They may surprisingly recommend their ex-spouse’s divorce lawyer.
Once you’ve identified several candidates, the research continues. Visit their websites next. Are the testimonials from satisfied former clients plentiful? There is no substitute for a credible, authentic expression of positive user-experience. Read about why the firm was founded and see if you’re comfortable with the values expressed.
Finding a divorce lawyer in California online.
Next, Clio, a legal technology company suggests, “In today’s digital age, lawyer review sites play a vital role in offering insights and perspectives that significantly impact a client’s decision-making process. …over one-third of prospective clients rank positive reviews as a top three factor they’ll look to when deciding whether to hire a lawyer.”
Here are several of the most popular legal review sites, and they’re all free.
Avvo “is an online marketplace for legal services, that provides lawyer referrals and access to a database of legal information consisting primarily of previously answered questions. …Questions regarding education, work experience, and languages spoken.”
Lawyers.com “exists to connect individuals with legal professionals to ensure you get the right support with your legal issue, making the process simple and empowering. With resources that cover a multitude of legal topics, individuals can research, find, and contact a legal professional with confidence and ease.”
LegalMatch California “operates an online legal matching service where people submit a legal case and get responses including ratings and quotes from lawyers interested in their case. The service is free to use for those posting a case, while lawyers contract with LegalMatch to gain access to the leads generated.”
Justia is “a top choice for legal research, offering a vast database of state and federal case law, statutes, and regulations. Free users can access Supreme Court opinions, state laws, and legal blogs,” It also provides something unique to people looking for legal help – attorney reviews of attorneys. Good to know how a lawyer’s legal peers view them.
And then of course there’s Google. Though it’s not legal-centric like the other sites, because so many people reflexively ‘google’ anything and everything, lawyers are paying a lot of attention and spending a lot of money to win more positive google reviews.
If you seriously want to find the best divorce attorney, ask the best questions.
This is the final step in the process of looking for a good divorce lawyer. Interview at least a few attorneys to provide a context for comparing them. And ideally, interview them in person. An in-person interview will give you that much more information to factor in, like what does their office tell you? Do the people who work there look engaged in their work? Is it overly showy?
- Here are a number of key questions you should consider asking each candidate…
- What is your main practice area?
- What is your hourly fee? Your retainer?
- Tell me a few short stories about great outcomes you’ve had for cases like mine.
- How would you characterize your style of practice? Aggressive? Strategic? Patient?
- Who will be handling my case? And for what % of the time?
- Is my case a good candidate for alternative resolution?
- From what I’ve shared, what do you think the best approach would be?
- How often do your cases go to trial? How often are they resolved in mediation/collaborative law?
- How often can I expect to hear from you?
Finally, sit with everything you’ve learned and ask yourself: Which candidate had the greatest number of positives and resonated with you most? and ask yourself: Which candidate had the greatest number of positives and resonated with you most?
For some of the best divorce attorneys in California, look no further.
Laughlin Legal Divorce and Family Law Group is a collection of some of the most skilled divorce attorneys, child custody attorneys, and divorce and child custody mediators in California. They also provide a number of other custody-related services such as establishing paternity or seeking permission for relocation if a parent wants to move with the children during or after a divorce. Laughlin Legal is trusted throughout California for their ability to understand and secure their clients’ needs, and help divorcing parties achieve a better outcome.