Make sure the RI Attorney You Hire is Not Out of His or Her League!
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
The economy nationwide is taking everyone by storm including Rhode Island lawyers.
Many lawyers who do not regularly practice divorce and actually focus on other aspects of law such as criminal law, real estate law, estate practice, and tenant evictions for landlords are finding that their market for clients is far from great. So, being lawyers, and having an instinct for survival they often choose survival over closing their practice. Too many of them are choosing to branch out into areas of law that they are unfamiliar with. This is a danger that is ever present to those trying to hire a lawyer.
Lawyers in Rhode Island are licensed in the general practice of law and therefore they can practice any type of law that their license allows them to practice even if they have no knowledge or experience in it.
I have found that even while some long term Rhode Island divorce practitioners are having difficulty finding clients in an economy where people are trying to represent themselves, that real estate lawyers, estate planning lawyers and other lawyers with differing experience are now jumping into divorce practice in the hope of bringing in a few dollars.
This poses a potential threat to clients who want to hire a practitioner who knows what they are doing and is not going to be learning "on their dime" what to do.
A client's biggest nightmare may be to realize that the lawyer they hired for their divorce is actually only experienced in landlord-tenant law or real estate. The last thing you want to discover as a client is to find out that the attorney you hired has taken on your case which is out of his or her league.
A word to the wise prospective client. Find a lawyer who regularly practices family law at least a few times per month in the family courts and has been doing so for 3 to 4 years. If you have a divorce and divorce is not one of the lawyer's top fields of focus, then move on ... and interview another lawyer no matter how good the financial offer you are given may seem.
A single dollar you pay to an inexperienced practitioner or one who doesn't know the field at all is a wasted dollar. Better to spend 5 dollars on a lawyer who knows what to do in your case than to waste 2 dollars on a lawyer who has no clue what they are doing on your case.
All My Best to You in Your Journey Through the RI Family Court,
Attorney Christopher A. Pearsall "The Rhode Island Divorce Coach"
Serving Kent County, Providence County, Washington (South) County, and Newport Counties in divorce and family law practice for over 12 years.
Call me now at (401) 632-6976 for a relatively cheap legal advice session so that you know your legal rights BEFORE you act!