Nine ways to communicate with your family law attorney

9.Call your family law attorney on a regular basis.

Checking in with your family law lawyer on a weekly basis will ensure that your case is always fresh in their mind.

8.Communicate with your family law attorney by e-mail, but don't abuse it.

Be careful of information you share over email with your family law lawyer. If you have something important to share regarding your case, schedule an in-person meeting with your family law attorney.

7. Of course you can communicate with your family law attorney by fax.

Faxing documents and signatures is still an acceptable and quick way to communicate with your family law attorney.

6.Communicate by snail-mail.

Bear in mind that this is a good way to communicate if there are several issues to be raised, but it is also a slow way to do so.

5. Keep a running list of questions

In communicating with your family law attorney, to save time and money, keep track of issues and raise several issues or questions at once, rather than calling or e-mailing on a daily basis with every issue.

4. Make sure that your communications are responded to.

Whether they are phone calls, e-mails, letters, or faxes, you deserve a response. When selecting a family law lawyer, ask them what their policies are regarding returning communication with clients. You can also ask to speak with previous clients or look for positive testimonials regarding your family law lawyer.

3.If you have questions or issues, don't be bashful.

Remember that your family law attorney is working for you. If you have a concern about an issue in your case, raise it. Communication is a two-way street, and it is important to communicate. You deserve answers. You deserve to know what is going on. You deserve to know what strategies are being raised. If there are issues that you have questions about, you deserve answers. They should all be in a timely fashion. There was once a study done with regard to phone calls and messages, and when a client reasonably expected a return call. The possible answers were: immediately, within two hours, within four hours, by the end of the day, within 24 hours, or whenever. The correct response was within three hours.

2.Trust is important.

Having confidence in your family law attorney is important. Through communication and feeling that your family law attorney has your best interests at heart, this trust needs to be established. It is important to feel that you are not just a number, but are very important to your attorney because what you are going through in a divorce, child custody, or other family law related matter, is one of the most important situations in your life.

1.Meet with your family law attorney.

Face to face communication is critical. At the initial consultation, this is how you establish a rapport. This is how you decide whether or not you are going to retain a particular attorney. Don't hesitate to ask questions. Don't hesitate to take notes. Make sure that before you retain an attorney, that this is the person who you will entrust one of the most important times in your life to. Don't hesitate to have regular meetings so that you can make sure that you are both on the same wavelength, and are doing things and working together. You and your attorney are part of a team, and this is important.

Henry S. Gornbein is the founding and managing partner in the law firm Gornbein Smith Peskin-Shepherd PLLC, specializing in Family Law and Divorce Services including matrimonial law, divorce, child custody, prenuptial agreements, divorce mediation, arbitration, and paternity. Our goal is to facilitate humane, dignified resolutions to Family Law issues. We personalize our services within a sensitive environment with compassion and understanding. Visit us at http://familylawofmichigan.com

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