I just completed a consultation with a person whose spouse retained a “cheap” divorce attorney here in the Bronx.
The person consulting with me literally received 2 documents in an envelope – the affidavit of defendant and a proposed settlement agreement. There was no cover letter explaining who these documents were from, much less what they meant or what to do with them.
Next problem: there was also no Divorce Summons! Despite the proposed affidavit of defendant saying the person received a summons, the attorney’s office (opps!) forgot to stick the Summons into the envelope.
When a law firm is a “mill” – churning out hundreds of divorces every year – it’s easy to make mistakes and produce sloppy work. It also can end up costing you more money to have those mistakes fixed.
But more importantly, if your children and/or assets are important to you, then it should also be important to you to have a good, quality attorney representing you. Don’t fall for a flashy website – ask questions! Is your prospective attorney “AV” rated? What’s the attorney’s Avvo rating? Are they listed in Super Lawyers? What’s their case count?
