How to Find the Best Divorce Lawyer in San Jose California?  - San Jose Divorce Attorney

It’s a trick question. You do not need to find the very best divorce lawyer or attorney in San Jose, California There are lots of divorce attorneys in San Jose who would likely do an equally great effort for you. It would definitely be inconceivable to identify which one is the “absolute best.”

The correct concern for you, the San Jose divorce consumer, is exactly how to discover just one of those San Jose top divorce attorneys at the exact standards of representation and also price for the realities of your certain case – while avoiding every one of the common, and also occasionally dangerous, pitfalls of the San Jose divorce attorney selection decision.

If you understand what those pitfalls are (I will tell you in this short article) and also if you have the right mindset, namely that you want to make your San Jose divorce attorney fit your situation and also not permit the attorney to compel your situation to fit his or her inflexible practice profile, then you boost greatly your chances of nailing the San Jose divorce attorney hiring decision. Getting you through that decision effectively is the objective of this post.

To start with, let’s list the 4 things to stay clear of:

1. Avoid Do-It-Yourself Divorce:

It is possible, repeat POSSIBLE, to acquire totally free family law forms from California’s judicial council or family court sites. Those totally free divorce forms are going to be uncompleted, obviously. You can at that point attempt to finish and also submit the forms at your local Santa Clara County divorce court on your own without expert help. This is possible – however extremely improbable, extremely challenging, complex, irritating and also very time-consuming.

Do it yourself divorce would certainly be practically unfeasible, and also not sensible even to try, in any type of  complicated or contended family law action. It would certainly be extremely improbable to be effective if you have minor children of the marital relationship or have any type of property or financial debts to be listed in the case or have custody, visitation or assistance settlements in your proceedings. It would certainly be unwise in a matter entailing domestic violence. Do it yourself would certainly also be challenging if you work or if you position any kind of value on your own time. Family law forms and also processeses are made by attorneys to perplex you to make sure that you hire – an attorney.

Please excuse me if I do not spend too much time on the DIY threat. My experience on the cutting edge of California divorce for the past 40+ years is that folks who begin the divorce process with the intent to attempt to obtain a free divorce are going to  attempt Do-It-Yourself divorce whatever. For one reason or another, probably economic, there is absolutely nothing I have actually been able to discover to encourage them not to.

DIY in Family Law is typically false affordability. You WILL almost certainly screw it up, and also screwed-up matters are a lot more troublesome and also very expensive to correct and also conclude. Don’t play this game. The system is made by attorneys to perplex you and also compel you to hire a divorce attorney. There are currently cost-efficient options offered– see below. Don’t go it alone in Divorce or Family Law.

2. Avoid Traditional San Jose Family Law Attorneys if Your Case is Likely to be Uncontested:

An uncontested divorce is simply one in which the litigants will not be challenging any type of concerns, including the divorce itself. The litigants do not have to be cheerful and also they do not have to care for each other. They are either entirely or mainly in agreement on all concerns and also are sensible enough to recognize that standard full-representation divorce attorneys (with massive retainers and also billable hours) would certainly be the only victors if they contended fairly unimportant concerns in their divorce.

Standard complete representation by a neighborhood San Jose divorce attorney is when that attorney will represent you in all aspects of your divorce case. It is extremely likely to be a very good service, but it is high priced.

If you have a contested matter, a complicated matter, a high-value matter or a matter that involves domestic violence or the threat of domestic violence, complete representation by a San Jose divorce attorney is NOT to be evaded. It is a prerequisite.

A contested matter signifies that you and also your spouse/partner are contesting ANY issue in the matter. A complex matter consists of legal complexities such as tax concerns, active business concerns, a special needs child of the marital relationship or any one of numerous other intricate legal situations. A high-value case indicates that your marital estate is huge. There is no specific dollar limit. Absolutely, if you have a high 7-figure net marital estate or greater, that is a high-value matter.

If you believe that you have a contested,complicated or high-value matter, you do. Employ an experienced and also high priced San Jose divorce attorney for complete traditional representation. Seek a certified Family Law specialist. You will not be sorry you did.

If you do NOT have a contested, complex, high-value or domestic violence case, you do NOT need traditional complete representation by a San Jose divorce attorney. In fact, under those circumstances, complete legal representation by a San Jose divorce attorney becomes a risk to your economic position. Steer clear of it.

Of course, if you call or email a traditional San Jose divorce attorney, they will not tell you that you do not need their complete representation service. In fact, they will attempt to frighten the crap out of you by sharing with you that you absolutely need their service and that your case will get messed up without it.

That might transpire– even in a non-DIY case. I’ll inform you next how to keep away from perhaps 90+% of the prospective threat of getting your case messed up if you do not go DIY and you DON’T hire a traditional San Jose divorce attorney on a complete representation basis.

Your case might likewise perhaps get messed up if you DID hire a complete representation San Jose divorce attorney. That’s likewise not likely, however it could possibly happen.

However, what will DEFINITELY happen if you hire a traditional complete representation San Jose divorce attorney to handle your uncontested divorce or family law case is that you will get screwed economically. Your case might be managed effectively, however you will overbuy excessive services and you will overpay for them.

There’s no need for that to happen any longer. Your mothers and fathers had few other options on their family law hiring options. Your grandparents had no other options. You have lots of valid options to make your San Jose uncontested divorce attorney hiring decision based upon the nature and facts of your case, not upon the BMW payments of San Jose divorce attorneys. Continue reading.

3. Avoid Unqualified Unregulated Online Divorce Mills:

This is without a doubt the biggest risk you face in your hiring decision in terms of damage to your future legal and economic safety. Non-lawyer online divorce is a substantial industry. And it is very dangerous to your legal and economic future.

Online divorce mills use slick websites, wicked-cool divorce software, costs lower than MOST attorneys, no legal recommendations, no legal knowledge, no professional licensing, no legal education, no code of principles, no malpractice insurance coverage, no knowledge of Santa Clara County divorce policies, no local knowledge about Santa Clara County rules of court, local Santa Clara County forms, local practices or the policies of individual local judges in the San Jose local area and no professional interest in you or your case. And all within a completely uncontrolled Wild-West industry widespread with all kinds of incompetence, price scams, and up-selling.

Online divorce mill costs average about $300, however what you get for that $300 fee is remarkably little– just prepared California divorce forms. Any other services delivered are all up-sold on the basis that when they’ve got you hooked, what are you going to do – walk away from cash already invested? You are at their mercy and you are entirely unguarded. And they realize it!

See the Online Divorce Association of America’s website for a good review of just a few of the more typical frauds and up-sells to be experienced in the online divorce industry.

If you employ an online divorce mill, you’ll constantly be contending with low-level, untrained, indifferent, high turn-over personnel, call center workers and folks in India, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Mexico or some other state. No one will carry out any type of analysis on your case to secure you and any minor children from future legal or monetary damage. Client assistance will be horrible due to the fact that it does not have to be anything else. You will never ever be able to meet with anybody at an online divorce mill as it is most likely that none of them lie in San Jose or perhaps in California

If you hire an online divorce mill thinking you will conserve yourself a few dollars and you and your household wind up paying for their mistakes for many years, that is NOT a low-cost divorce!

4. Avoid Me-Too Lawyer Advertising Platforms:

Me-Too Lawyer Advertising Platforms are online lawyer directories like Avvo, FindLaw, LegalZoom, Justia, Google Screened, Google Business Profile (formerly GMB) and now even Yelp. This is the most recent mistake to stay clear of in your San Jose divorce lawyer hiring decision.

However, the prospective harm here is not big– nowhere near the damage done consistently by non-lawyer online divorce mills or undoubtedly the damage most likely to be done by you to your own case with DIY divorce.

If you hire a San Jose divorce attorney you found on a mass-lawyer finder platform, you’re going to overpay to some extent, depending on how much the lawyer is paying the lawyer finder platform, however not as terribly as if you had actually employed a traditional complete representation San Jose family law attorney directly.

Undoubtedly, you do not wish to hire a traditional complete representation San Jose divorce attorney you find on a mass-lawyer platform. That would compound your over-payment, however the important aspect here is that you do not wish to hire a traditional complete representation San Jose divorce attorney to handle your simple uncontested divorce, no matter where you find that lawyer!!

The threat with hiring a San Jose divorce attorney that you find ONLY on a mass-lawyer platform is that you’re employing a mediocre San Jose divorce attorney– a drone who just stands in line with all other San Jose divorce attorneys and HOPES that s/he will get your business however does nothing to set apart himself or herself from the San Jose lawyer-crowd. That lawyer does nothing to influence you that s/he is the standout resolution to your case. You do not wish to have that lawyer.

You want a San Jose divorce lawyer who is innovative, vibrant, unique, classy and business-savvy. In fact, why would you hire a San Jose divorce lawyer to care for your own legal and economic interests when s/he does not even take care of his or her own business interests aggressively and decisively? You’re looking for a divorce lawyer who purposefully sets himself or herself apart from the San Jose lawyer-crowd and does NOT blend in by signing up with Avvo and doing nothing else.

Mass-lawyer finder platforms like Avvo are completely free to sign up with, which is why every divorce lawyer in Santa Clara County will have joined. So you ought to not disqualify a San Jose divorce lawyer just because s/he has an Avvo account.

However, you ought to not believe that such a San Jose divorce lawyer is extremely intelligent or business-savvy either. The issue is that while these mass-lawyer platforms are completely free for the lawyer to enroll in, the lawyer needs to then begin to pay continuously increasing costs on a bid-basis, constantly contending against other local Santa Clara County divorce attorneys, to be seen on the top page of the platform’s website. If that lawyer does not pay extra, s/he’ll be on page 3 or 5 of the mass-lawyer website in even a medium-sized town. If that lawyer does not keep bidding up his or her costs, she’ll not get sufficient clients to keep up.

It’s a winner-take-all system with the top extremely few attorneys in each town taking almost all cases– based on how much advertising costs they can pay– not based on how great they are or on how they have configured their offerings to suit your case. The barrier to that me-too lawyer getting your business is the amount of cash s/he is prepared to pay to get it, not the quality and distinctiveness of his or her service offerings.

If that me-too divorce lawyer in San Jose pays more to the mass-lawyer finder platform and keeps paying more, s/he’ll get a highlighted position on the platform’s website and will get more business, however his or her costs of working will constantly increase while his or her costs are fairly set by the flat need for consumer law services such as divorce.

The San Jose divorce lawyer who plays the Avvo pay-to-play scheme will constantly need increasingly more lower revenue cases just to stay on top of business costs. You do not want that business-foolishness in someone you will trust with your legal and economic future.

And yes, that lawyer is going to utilize the very same brain to take care of your case as s/he used to screw his or her own business into the ground.

How to Find the Best San Jose Divorce Lawyer – San Jose Divorce Attorney

So above are 4 concerns to abstain from: DIY divorce, old-fashioned full-service lawyer representation in simple uncontested cases, unlicensed and uncontrolled online divorce mills and boring me-too drone attorneys who are actually bad at law practice business.

So what do you in fact search for in a San Jose divorce attorney?

Before I tell you, I wish to set the stage by offering you two amazing stats that I did not believe when I initially saw them. These are game-changers in the legal profession and you really need to maximize them in your San Jose divorce lawyer employing decision:

1. There is a glut of lawyers on the market and it’s serious. According to the ABA National Lawyer Population Survey, in 2017, the whole legal profession lost some 1400 jobs while almost 20,000 brand new lawyers have been added – just in 2017. And the ABA has just certified a huge new law school down in Texas. And this has been trending for years. And all of this surplus of supply while the demand for legal services has been flat or, as in the case of family law, diminishing because of DIY divorce and the overwhelming success of fraudulent and incompetent online divorce mills (both caused by the Internet).
2. From 1988 to 2012, the average solo lawyer practitioner’s yearly income, after adjusting for inflation, dropped from $70,747 to $49,130. Read that last sentence again. This is based on published data from the IRS compiled from solo lawyer practitioner tax returns for the years specified. The legal profession is in serious economic decline. More so in areas of consumer law, like uncontested divorce, where the Internet has reduced the knowledge gap between lawyers and consumers.

What to Look For:

Business-savvy lawyers who want to participate in the divorce industry are under considerable price and business-model pressure right now. Take advantage! You want to hire a San Jose divorce lawyer who has responded to this professional crisis in the following ways.

You want as many of the following factors as you can find in one San Jose divorce attorney:

1. Licensed local San Jose divorce attorney (not an unlicensed out-of-state online divorce mill);
2. Offers unbundled services in uncontested cases– this denotes that you just buy the legal services your case needs. You will normally do your own filing of docs at court and schedule the service of filed docs on your spouse/partner. The divorce lawyer will examine your docs before they are filed, identify problem concerns in your case and recommend the very best options based upon legal recommendations and local knowledge. If you call a lawyer and inquire about unbundled services and you can determine they do not know or do not want you to know, just hang up. They do not yet get it. Move on. Don’t inform them.
3. Uses online divorce software that enables you to log into a client portal and enterall of the details in your case.  This not only saves time and money, but it actually empowers you in your own case. You are the source of all datain your case. Also, there’s no 50-page paper copyone-size-fits-all questionnaire for you to get through in the lawyer’s waiting area.
4. Uses other cloud-based software and apps – listen for buzz phrases like “client portal” and “virtual law practice.” Ask about e-filing and listen closely to determine if the lawyer even knows what it is.
5. Doesn’t have a fancy office in a downtown high-rise or across from the courthouse. You don’t want to pay those rents. This is even more so during C-19. You’re looking for a lawyer in a strip mall or even one who works at home and has one or more shared office arrangements for client meetings. Don’t use a lawyer who has obviously big expenses – YOU pay them!
6. Look for a competitive edge. Look for a lawyer who understands what is going on around him or her in his or her chosen profession. The practice of law is legal education, knowledge and experience attached to a business model. If you call a lawyer and ask about unbundled services or online divorce interviews and they act like law practice is ONLY a noble profession and not a competitive business, hang up. Don’t educate them. They don’t yet get it.
7. Specialization – You don’t want to hire a lawyer who is a jack-of-all-trades on the basis that s/he might get hired for something. There are many different areas of law practice. They are very different from each other. Specialization is the name of the game today. Look at the lawyer’s website. It will tell you whether s/he is trying to get work in numerous areas of practice. It doesn’t matter if the lawyer handles maybe 2 areas of law, particularly if they are both areas of consumer law, such as divorce and bankruptcy. However, if you see that the primary practice area is DUI or personal injury or criminal law and family law appears to be an add-on, move on. Don’t explain.  Just move on. They do not handle enough family law to be any good.  They use family law as an unwanted add-on.  They will not be experienced enough and they will have to charge you a lot because you will be one of very few family law clients. Also, personal injury law paydays are huge and criminal law cases are critical to someone’s personal freedom. Where do you think your family law case will fit into that lawyer’s busy day?
8. Look for a spark – You are looking for a lawyer who has positioned himself or herself in such a way as to convince you that s/he is the unique local divorce lawyer in San Jose that is best suited to resolving your case and your specific problems. This is hard to define, but you will understand if that lawyer makes this connection with you. If there is no such spark on the first exposure, there never will be. Move on.
9. Look for Unique Action – Obviously, this does not involve ONLY standing in line with every other lawyer at Avvo or similar me-too lawyer platforms. Avvo owns all of that attorney’s blog posts and may control his or her entire marketing outreach. Avvo takes money from that lawyer in order to sign up more lawyers in San Jose lawyer-crowd. You’re looking for someone with style who stands out, not melds in. 1-800-DIVORCE is exclusive in San Jose. There is only one 1-800-DIVORCE lawyer in San Jose. Check here or complete the web form below to see if San Jose has a 1-800-DIVORCE.

Divorce and Other Family Law Services Are Available Through 1-800-DIVORCE in Most Medium to Large Cities, Including the Following Cities, As Well As in San Jose:

Hayward, San Mateo, Oakland, Daly City, San Francisco, Berkeley, Concord, Antioch, Salinas, Richmond, Modesto, Stockton, Vallejo, Fairfield, Elk Grove, Santa Rosa, Sacramento, Roseville, Fresno, Clovis, Visalia, Santa Maria, Reno, Bakersfield, Ventura, Oxnard, Simi Valley, Santa Clarita, Thousand Oaks, Lancaster