It depends on the lawyer, the kinds of clients they represent and how they approach their job. Some lawyers only represent Hollywood actors or captains of industry and their fees are representative of their client’s wealth and the value of the marital estates they are dividing. Think war of the roses. Their offices are often plush to reflect the exclusive nature of their clientele. Other attorneys are less pretentious and represent clients living in the real world. These attorneys earn far less than the high-profile attorneys who only represent the rich and powerful. What is true of almost all attorneys is that they are operating businesses with overhead such as rent, utilities, payroll, taxes, licenses, health insurance, malpractice insurance, business insurance, copier costs, computer costs, legal research fees and on and on. Many attorneys are also paying off student loan debts the acquired just to get through law school. So, just like all business owners, much of the legal fees that are charged to you are eroded by the high cost of being in business, especially here in California. At Werno Family Law Solutions, we represent people just like us, they’re the good people in life who are less wealthy and less pretentious than your average Hollywood actor.

Absolutely not, but it usually helps. Most people could repair their own car, but don’t because of the difficulty of doing so. Having a trained mechanic with the right tools and experience usually results in a better job, done faster and with far less hassle. The same is true of solving your family law problems. Hiring a Certified Family Law Specialist is like hiring a master mechanic – you’re hiring someone with a proven ability to solve the difficult problems that often arise in family court matters. Also, in doing so, you shift a lot of the stress to your attorney, who already knows how to take care of your problem. There are, however, many problems that are less complex and less contentious that can be solved with relative ease on your own. In those cases, the family court has a department called the Self-Help Center where trained staff can help you figure out what documents and forms will be needed by the court to solve your problem. They can also answer simple how to questions as well. Best of all, the Self-Help Center is free. They cannot, however, represent you in court and you’ll have to do that on your own.

Experience and integrity should be at the top of your list. Know that not all attorneys are created equal. For example, all attorneys can handle personal injury cases, criminal matters, evictions, wills and trusts and so on, and many do all at the same time. What this means is that they know a little about a lot of things, but not much about any one area of the law. Conversely, most areas of the law have what are known as certified specialists. For example, a Certified Family Law Specialist is someone who has taken a second bar examination that is solely focused on family law and nothing else. Certified specialists are experts in their area of the law and must document significant experience in order to be certified. They must also recertify every five years. As such, why would you hire anyone but an expert? Before you hire anyone, however, you should check the State Bar of California website to see if the attorney you’re interested in has had any disciplinary problems, and if so, that should probably rule them out. Also, check the Internet reviews for that attorney. There are always going to be one or two people who can’t be pleased, but if an attorney has lots of negative reviews, that may be a real problem. Lastly, like any job, people new to the profession may be passionate, but lack the experience necessary to be truly effective.