I am frequently consulted by a person in the middle of a contested divorce, post-divorce or other family law matter. The potential client usually asks if they can get a second opinion about their case or they already know that they are unhappy with their current attorney.
When the person calls to set up the appointment my office will ask them to bring with them copies of any current court orders and copies of the Statements of Net Worth (if it is an ongoing divorce case) as well as any settlement agreements whether temporary or final.)
From my perspective, as a highly experienced matrimonial/family lawyer, when I speak with them I am listening carefully to what they say, how they say it, what information is in the documents and obviously the name of their current and opposing attorney and if appointed the attorney for the child.
I rarely have to ask why they are unhappy or why they are seeking a second opinion because that information will be usually be provided very quickly and without my asking.
I do want to know what is not going right or why they have misgivings about their current legal representation.
Usually the reasons are any or all of the following:
1. Inability or breakdown in the communication with the attorney. Calls and emails are either not responded to or the delay in responding is too long.
2. Lack of confidence in the attorney and the advice provided with that feeling in their stomach that things are not going well or that the attorney is in over their head and not respected by the judge.
3. The other side is not complying with court orders, not disclosing assets and income and their attorney is unable to enforce the orders and compel financial disclosure.
4. Lack of progress (which is the byproduct of number three above).
5. Legal fees seem out of control when measured by progress and results obtained.
There are times where after listening to the potential client, reviewing their documents, and hearing what advice that they have received that I may say that the right things are being done and that the problems are unfortunately not totally within their attorney's control. They may be getting good advice with aggressive representation but the judge keeps giving second and third chances to the other side.
There may also be situations where the client's expectations are not reasonable and perhaps the second opinion will help them understand the limitations of the results available.
Although, usually the problem areas listed above do exist and then it is in the person's best interest for a change in legal representation to occur. Changing attorneys will almost always require a new retainer and therefore there are financial considerations initially to making this decision. However, if the client has lost confidence in their current attorney there may not be many other good options available.
My best advice is to try and pick the right attorney initially that has deep experience in family law matters, is not hesitant to litigate but also is a skilled negotiator so that a negotiated settlement can be the goal. Recommendations by attorneys from other areas of the law, accountants, former clients and on line reviews (as long as they are real and not mass produced), and assessing the first interaction with the office staff can help make the decision the right one the first time.