Looking for the perfect family lawyers in Gippsland? With a wide selection to choose from, finding the right lawyer to represent you or assist you with family law matters can feel insurmountable. However, as experienced family lawyers servicing the Gippsland region, we have five expectations you should have of your lawyer to make your search far easier and more successful.
Make Sure You Have These 5 Key Expectations of Your Family Lawyer
To ensure you find a reliable family lawyer, it’s important to consider your expectations for their calibre of work and how they go about it. With these expectations firmly in place, you can weed out unsuitable options and create a high-quality shortlist. Importantly, these expectations are a key factor for finding a lawyer, whether you’re looking in Gippsland in Victoria, the Darling Downs in Queensland, or any region in Australia.
They’re Skilled in Your Area of Need
There are many different lawyers across the country, but not all of them will be able to help you. This is because the law is so vast, lawyers need to specialise in a particular area to provide a quality service. Family law is one such specialisation. However, a lawyer may not cover every aspect of that area of law. Therefore, it’s important that you do your due diligence and check exactly what services your chosen lawyer offers. For instance, not all family lawyers may offer assistance with adoptions, while others may not be able to provide advice on financial matters like financial agreements.
Of course, it’s not enough to just pick a lawyer that offers their services in the area you require help with. You want to find someone who offers high-quality services to make it more likely that you will get the result you’re hoping for. Therefore, it is best to choose a family lawyer that is regularly practising in your chosen area and practising successfully. Where possible, before entering a working relationship with a lawyer, ask them about their recent work and achievements to assess how confident you would feel if they were representing you.
They’re Passionate About Their Work
As part of this check, you want to get the sense that your chosen lawyer is passionate about their work. This is indicative of the care and attention they give their cases, including yours. It can be difficult for anyone to get a great result in any aspect of their work if they are not committed to it and invested in its success.
They Understand Any Regional Differences That May Affect Your Case
However, not only should your chosen lawyer have experience and knowledge, and a passion for the area of family law you require assistance in, but they should also be familiar with any regional or location-based variations that may be at play. When you’re looking at a Gippsland lawyer, they need to be familiar with both Federal laws and Victorian laws. This is because these jurisdictions may have different approaches to legal issues, maximum penalties, or definitions or understandings of what actions or activities fall under the legislation.
If you’ve travelled around Australia, chances are you’ve encountered these jurisdiction variations in action, but you may not have realised it at the time. For instance, if you’ve ever holidayed on the Gold Coast or in Adelaide and thought you’d pick up a bottle of wine along with your groceries, you may have been surprised to discover that the supermarket didn’t sell alcohol or have an attached liquor store. This is because both Queensland and South Australian laws state that alcohol cannot be sold in supermarkets.
Similarly, if you’re ever on a road trip around the country, it’s important to be aware of how each state and territory regulates mobile phone usage when driving. What may be acceptable in one jurisdiction may not be the case when you cross the border.
If your family lawyer doesn’t have this location-based familiarity, you may be setting yourself up for an unpleasant surprise.
They’re Experienced Problem Solvers, Negotiators & Communicators
Passion and knowledge can only go so far if your lawyer does not have the ability to apply relevant information to your situation or communicate clearly with you or other parties involved. You want your family lawyer to be able to present solutions to you that take your best interests into account. As part of this, they may need to negotiate with other parties to find amicable compromises. Most importantly, though, you want them to be able to keep you updated on your case or legal matters in a way that you can understand. This ensures that you can also advocate for yourself and what is most important to you.
When you start looking at family lawyers, consider how they present themselves both in-person and online. This can give you an idea of both their communication skills and their problem-solving expertise. Do they discuss a wide range of options or services while emphasising that they understand each case is different? Do you need to ask lots of questions or look up more information to understand what they’ve said?
They’re Empathetic But Honest With You
Intertwined with their passion for their specialisation and your case, it’s important that your family lawyer can be empathetic but honest with you. Family law matters can often be emotionally distressing and exhausting. Therefore, you want to be working with someone who is considerate of how you may be feeling. However, they also need to prioritise that they are doing you no favours by sugar-coating reality or ignoring it completely. Rather than someone who just wants you to feel better, you want to be working with someone who presents you with the facts and looks for solutions to get you closer to what you were hoping for.
Finding the Right Family Lawyer for You & Your Family
While you may have been encouraged by a pragmatist in the past to not set your expectations too high, when it comes to family law, high expectations are necessary. It is part of advocating for yourself and doing your best to get the result you want. Having the well-considered expectations will help you find the right lawyer for you.
At Duffy & Simon, we hold ourselves to high standards, endeavouring to always meet and exceed the expectations of our clients in everything we do. Talk to us today to find your ideal family lawyer.