Hiring a divorce lawyer in Chicago, Illinois is no small task. In fact, it can be an extremely stress-inducing experience. In addition to all of the stress and anxiety that one experiences in the initial stages of a divorce, one must now hire a stranger to unwind their relationship pursuant to the byzantine laws of their particular state.
Finding the Right Divorce Lawyer in Chicago, Illinois
In Chicago, Illinois, in particular, there are thousands of lawyers. Just a few hundred practice anything resembling family and divorce law, however. How are you to sift through all of these professionals to find the right person to guide you through the Illinois divorce process?
There are many ways to do so, and I will guide you through them in this article:
Tips for Finding the Best Divorce Lawyer in Chicago
1. Ask Some Friends
You are likely to have many friends who have been divorced or who are close to people who have been divorced. You can ask them if they will recommend their divorce lawyer. People often have a very mixed relationship with their divorce lawyers. It’s an arduous and emotional process, so if someone liked their Chicago divorce lawyer, then that divorce lawyer is probably a good attorney—very personal or both.
If a friend had a bad divorce experience, they can recommend the Chicago divorce lawyer that their spouse had. It’s a strange reference, but in fact, they’re very common in this industry.
2. Look at Reviews
There are tons of reviews on the internet of all sorts of lawyers. Dozens of sites compile these lawyer reviews. Avvo, Yelp, and Google are some of the biggest review sites that include lawyers. Reviews can be a great source of information, especially if they include details of the client’s experience. The more details, the better.
The problem with reviews is the lack of context. The case may have just been a terrible or overly easy divorce that caused the good or bad review. Worse yet, the review may not even be real. Some lawyers have been known to write reviews for themselves or solicit reviews from friends and family (or even pay for lawyer reviews).
3. Look at Their Websites
After you have an initial recommendation from either a friend, family member, or review site, you can peruse each divorce lawyer’s website to learn more about them. A divorce lawyer who takes pride in his or her website is likely to be a divorce lawyer who takes pride in his or her work. We’ve all seen outdated and sloppy websites with weird fonts and bad pictures. This can be a sign.
Also, a website will let you know if the divorce lawyer has a staff. Most divorce lawyers have an “About” page where they list their staff and the professional backgrounds of their staff. A lawyer who can support a staff must be doing something right.
