Obtaining a divorce involves making one’s way through the legal process. The best way to navigate through the divorce process is to have the right divorce lawyer.
The Right Divorce Lawyer
Is your divorce simple or complicated? Do you have children and custody issues related to the children? Do you have significant assets or virtually no assets at all? Your divorce attorney’s job is to provide you with legal representation geared to your personal situation. So, before you start looking for a divorce lawyer analyze what the issues are involved in your case.
Be Goal Oriented
The goal in your divorce is to end your marriage. Your divorce is not a process involving the punishment of your spouse for being a lousy human being. Think with your head about divorce issues and not with your emotions. Try to avoid making your divorce more litigious than necessary.
Seek to Obtain Your Goal
With a Minimum of Aggravation and Expense
The best way to minimize the cost of divorce litigation is to negotiate a settlement out of court. Litigation involves the concept of hurry up and wait. You have to appear in court by 9:30 in the morning. When you get there you can find that your case is number 25 on the calendar and that the court is going to make you sit around and wait until they get to you. Meanwhile you are paying your attorney between $350.00 and $500.00 an hour while they are sitting around waiting for the case to be called. Meetings in attorneys’ offices to discuss amicable resolutions of divorce cases are far more efficient then litigating in a court room.
Meet with your Attorney
In the first meeting with your attorney you should focus on his or her experience. Find out how long they have been practicing law, the number of cases they have been involved with, and the staff and other attorneys in the office that back them up. An ideal attorney should have the legal know how and experience to resolve your case while working as an advocate to obtain your goals. He or she should be able to communicate with you and opposing counsel and negotiate on your behalf. It is a good idea for your attorney to know the Supreme Court and Family Court judges in your local area and how they look at and deal with various issues.
Communicate with Your Attorney
If you think your attorney is doing a good job during the handling of your case, let him or her know. If they are doing bad job also let them know. Divorce can be an emotional process as well as a process involving the distribution of assets, issues involving custody, child support and spousal maintenance. It is important to choose the right attorney 
and to maintain constant contact with him or her.
Elliot S. Schlissel, Esq. has been representing clients in divorce cases for more than four decades in the Metropolitan New York area. He can be reached at Elliot@sdnylaw.com or 800-344-65431.
