For most people going through a divorce, it is their first experience with the legal system and with a lawyer. So, what can you expect? Indeed, what should you expect?

CANDOR

You should expect to be candid with your lawyer. Your lawyer can only help you and protect your legal rights if you tell him everything. Holding back puts him at a disadvantage, which puts you at a disadvantage. The last place your lawyer wants to learn something about you is from your spouse’s lawyer.

Conversely, you should expect candor from your lawyer. The reason you hired a lawyer is because you need a professional with knowledge of the law and experience in navigating the legal system to help you get through the process. Your lawyer is required to give you his honest, objective assessment. Sometimes that means telling you what you want to hear. But, sometimes it means telling you what you might not like to hear.

Only when you tell your lawyer everything and he objectively assesses your case with the knowledge you have shared, can you and he devise the strategy most calculated to achieve your goals. You’re not hiring a “yes man”. You’re hiring someone who is trained to deal with the negatives in your case in the most effective way possible.

DILIGENCE

You should expect your lawyer to know you and to know your case. Only through preparation and hard work can your lawyer know the case better than anyone else in the room – whether it’s a conference room or a courtroom.

There is no substitute for preparation. Knowing the case puts you in a position of strength which becomes apparent early on and gives your spouse and your spouse’s lawyer a clear message.

Diligence also allows your lawyer to properly assess the strengths and weaknesses of the case (no case is perfect – they all have weaknesses to some degree) so that strengths can be exploited and weaknesses can be strategically minimized.

COMMUNICATION

This is your lawyer’s case, but it’s your life. You should expect to be informed regularly about developments in your case. You should receive copies of everything that comes into or goes out of your lawyer’s office about your case.

When you are informed, you don’t have to imagine what is going on. You can deal with reality, not fantasy. When you are informed, you can make better decisions. Your goals can be more intelligently formed and you can participate more fully as a member of your team (your lawyer, his staff and you).

The lawyer should put himself in the client’s position and imagine how he would feel if it were his divorce and he was kept in the dark. He probably wouldn’t like it. You shouldn’t either.

PAYMENT

Family lawyers work hard in a field fraught with emotion, emergencies, and real issues gravely important to real people and families. Most are committed to advocating zealously and fairly for their clients and to achieving their clients’ reasonable goals.

As you are entitled and expect to be paid for the work you do, family lawyers are entitled and expect to be paid for the work they do. Therefore, you should expect to pay your lawyer in a timely manner for the services rendered to you.

You should expect to receive, review and sign a retainer agreement which clearly outlines the financial arrangement for representation. Your lawyer should sign it, too. This is your contract. It is an important legal document required by the Supreme Court of New Jersey in all divorce cases.

You should also expect to regularly receive itemized bills so you will know what specific services have been rendered and what you are paying for.

You, as the client, should have certain expectations when it comes to candor, communication, diligence, and payment of fees. Equally important, however, is the fact that, in each category there are expectations for the client to fulfill. It’s a two way street which, when accepted equally by the client and the lawyer, sets a course for success.