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05 Aug, 2024 by George case
Great place. Chelsea is always a pleasure to talk to and informative.
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01 Aug, 2024 by Deshawn porter
Idk who to call or what to do these people are taking my money. For no reason I wasn't served papers or nothing. Now they saying they don't know who I am but still taking my money
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29 Jul, 2024 by Matthew johnson
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05 Aug, 2024 by George case
Great place. Chelsea is always a pleasure to talk to and informative.
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01 Aug, 2024 by Deshawn porter
Idk who to call or what to do these people are taking my money. For no reason I wasn't served papers or nothing. Now they saying they don't know who I am but still taking my money
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29 Jul, 2024 by Matthew johnson
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23 Jun, 2024 by A
Should be fired. She does NOT care about families or the health and well-being of children. Completely ignored FOC recommendations, placing children in harms way. She is a despicable example of a woman, a mother, a human being, and a judge. She should have NO power. Children could literally be killed because of her negligence.
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12 Nov, 2023 by Anonymous
Was able to witness events that took place during a divorce case and was horrified. Judges have an obligation to not see a case if they have any sense that they may have a bias, Ms.Gottlieb completely disregards this. She walks into a room and whatever she says goes, contradicting accounts are thrown out. I really hope she can fix her power overload before it catches up to her.
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07 Nov, 2023 by Gerardo
She should not be judge for family matters she has no sense of what a parent is and don't listen to real facts, she can destroy a kid life with out regret, she should be voted out. Stay away from her if you can.
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12 Oct, 2024 by Adi
I had a highly disappointing experience with this attorney. I found his approach to be aggressive and, at times, seemingly unprofessional. There were instances where I felt he relied on questionable tactics to undermine opposing parties. Furthermore, his handling of sensitive matters left me feeling uncomfortable, as it appeared he was willing to defend individuals without regard for moral implications. In interactions, he seemed to prioritize his perspective over the established facts, which gave an impression of attempting to sway court proceedings regardless of the presented evidence. This approach raised concerns about his respect for the integrity of the judicial process. Overall, my experience with this attorney was unsettling due to what I perceived as an apparent disregard for ethical boundaries. I recommend exercising caution when going against him. In short: A chauvinistic slime ball who uses dirty tactics to defame his opposition. A compulsive liar who protects child abusers and alcoholic. The most amoral man I have ever come across. A thin skinned narcissist who goes as far as trying to put the integrity of judges and other attorneys in question . He goes the extra step to try to convince the court of his lies despite the evidence laid out. A lawyer that violates an unseen amount of morals and that in a 5 minute span
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17 Apr, 2021 by Anonymous
This attorney will go to all lengths to advocate for his client and take whatever is said as factual. He uses antiquated divorce approaches that include defamation of his opposition to bolster his client's character. Best recommended for divorce proceedings that do NOT include children.
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09 Oct, 2024 by Nick
Paid a $4000 retainer for a lay up child custody case. I did some research and asked about filing an EX PARTE since the other parent took the kids and wouldn't let me see them. Matt advised that that wouldn't be a good idea and we should go the normal route that takes months. By the time I realized he was incompetent and couldn't be paid to care it was too late to file an ex parte and they used the fact I didn't file an emergency order against me. I ended up spending $12,000 with another attorney Mr. Kroll who was a shark and was more engaged. Bailey essentially stole $4000 from me and provided no services. He sucks. Please if you see this review have him work on contingency or something because paying him up front is just so he can take the money and bill it all away with out ANY ACTION AT ALL. I'm about to get full custody with all the facts and evidence of the case, thanks for nothing and taking the money from me Bailey. Do you read your reviews across the net and wonder why you are so uniformly poorly rated?? My mother said ignore the reviews it's only upset people who leave bad reviews when it happens they lose, sorry mom you were wrong, wish I had listened to the reviews on avvo and Google. I went 8 months without seeing my kids due to this lazy clown and the fact he didn't do as I even advised him to do, and it was used against me. "You didn't file an ex parte so you must not have been that worried about them in other parents care" Oops!!!!!
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26 Sep, 2023 by Anonymous
Matthew wasted months of our time trying to get me to mediate and agree with my child's father in spite of my adamant rejection to the idea. Matthew was visibly flustered on the day of the hearing and did not prepare more than a few screenshots for "evidence". Prior to the hearing, Matthew was unavailable for preparatory calls/conversations as soon as the clock hit 5pm every day. No witnesses interviewed, no evidence reviewed, etc. I had personally prepared myself for these last months to have a productive conversation with the other side and with the FOC to make meaningful changes to a custody agreement but Matthew had other ideas -- minutes before the hearing was to begin, he became angry with me for still not wanting to mediate so, the second I went to go find my husband for support, Matthew started the hearing without notifying me and adjourned it without my consent, without my being present. Then when we caught Matthew outside the hearing room, he announced he was withdrawing from my case and refused to explain what happened during the hearing he had just adjourned. We had to hire a different, more competent lawyer right away to reschedule the same type of hearing for several weeks from now. Again, massive waste of time and money, not to mention a painful day for me and my family. Matthew is completely incapable, and he's clearly fearful of hearings -- he only wants to mediate and satisfy the other side. The other reviews here, unfortunately, resonated all too well with us.
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16 Oct, 2018 by Brian
I hired Mr. Matthew Bailey who works for A.D.A.M out of Okemos, Mi who claims they help men through a divorce and they r for the men all the way. Well, unless u have a lot of money in your marriage he won’t fight for u. Instead he will side with your wife’s attorney and not help u like he claims or like a competent attorney would do. In my case, the mediator, the judge, and even my own attorney was against me. After my divorce hearing was granted in my wife’s behalf, the judge and the mediator went to eat at the Griffin Pub in Battle Creek, Michigan and I know this cuz I saw them as I was walking by outside going somewhere else. I swear on my grandma’s grave they were there together. I tried to get Mr. Bailey to subpoena my wife’s bank records to prove she either has money in there or she transferred it to another bank or gave it to someone else and Mr. Bailey refused to after he took her word for it that she didn’t have any money. Also, after a marriage whatever property is accumulated DURING a marriage should be divided equally including vehicles which my wife had among bank accounts and other property, but did Mr. Bailey go after any of that? NO !!!! He claimed his family was affiliated with the mediator which should have been a conflict of interest and Mr. Bailey could have asked for a different mediator cuz of that. Did he ask? NO !!!!! Instead he told me that it can be a good thing to have him like a 50/50 good thing. I don’t recommend him or any attorney from that law firm or any other attorney who advertises on the radio or television. Do your research people before hiring an attorney and believe reviews about them before hiring them. I wish I did.
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04 Jan, 2024 by Anonymous
Michael is a dishonest human being with no moral compass. The reviews on this site ARE 100 % accurate and true! I'm sure he will respond to this review denying these things as well, but he KNOWS they're true.
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17 Jan, 2023 by Anonymous
I hired Mr. King to handle my custody case. He drunk text me and then apologized the next day. He did it again about a month later. When I called him out on his behavior and that I didn’t appreciate it he “fired” me. I am friends with other women who had hired him and he definitely has a pattern of inappropriate behavior with female clients. He waits until their case is closed so “they are no longer a client.” He also violates attorney client privilege by talking about the specifics, with names, to people he is dating.
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19 Aug, 2021 by Anonymous
I hired Mr.King to handle my divorce. I was extremely weary about this “ All Inclusive” divorce ( for very good reason!). I even brought this up to tell, to which I was told “ I will fight until the end!”. I wish I was kidding when I say once the check cleared, the fight was gone. All the things I wanted before I paid him, were now “ not possible”. And the ones I had to practically beg him for weeks.like Financial Discovery ( pretty standard in a divorce). When I finally got a hard copy of the report that “ there’s nothing hidden” was 100% wrong, which leads me to believe he never read it. Mr. King “ fired me” due to the judge questioning if he was telling me orders from the court. He was not. Plus, he was supposed to change my child support after a certain day, told me he did. You guessed it, nope. Found out about the lie 4 months and THOUSANDS later. I honestly could have used the money I over paid in child support, still saved way more money, plus gotten much more accomplished in my divorce. Should have gone with my gut. Instead I got lied to, nothing accomplished and dropped once the judge found out. And If ever expect an answer to a phone call, text or email in under two weeks after he gets paid. Don’t hold your breath, Plus, I was told and given completely inaccurate court date times. Nothing like taking the day off of work cause a “ small boo boo”
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26 Mar, 2024 by Anonymous
Someone who hates her job and can't even seem to be polite to the attorneys. She is biased and hateful, doesn't seem to understand case law and doesn't seem to really care that she doesn't understand it.
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24 May, 2021 by Craig
Had a hearing with her today, pertaining to my daughter. She wouldn't allow me to speak at all, using the mute button on zoom any time I tried to speak. She listened to no relevant information, and made a terrible decision.
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13 Nov, 2017 by Anonymous
Seemed knowledgeable at our first meeting April 2014 for my husbands bankruptcy. Talked me into filing jointly depsite having NO negative debts and near perfect credit. Also advised us to make moves prior to filing that he later would tell us was too shady for him to now fix thus eliminating many options for us later on when we hit hard times. After filing and paying him in full we could barely get any response to questions, rarely answered emails or put anything in writing, basically felt like he deserted us after filing BR. In 2016 we switched to have another firm handle our case and they told me I never needed to file BR in the first place! They had concerns regarding how my case was handled by Hogan. New attn was able to get me a discharge in a few months (Nov 2016). It is now Nov 2017 and we are still receiving bills from his office that were paid in the BR and upon discharge (also confirmed paid by BR courts). Do your research! Do NOT let him rush you into an agreement until you have talked to several attorneys! Look at Hogan’s reviews on yellow pages; all one star! He cost me thousands and years of rebuilding credit that did not need to be destroyed. If you go with him, get everything in writing in detail as to what he will provide, when, how he will respond to emails, etc...How to get money back if he does not provide his services. You can file a Grievance with the BR court if you have been wronged by this office. He was located off Plainfeild in Grand Rapids MI at this time.
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23 Jun, 2010 by Anonymous
Contacted this attorney for help with a legal matter and was assured he would do what he could. Within a short time he was like Houdini and disappeared. No return emails. No return phone calls. Nothing! Last contact with this attorney was an offer to meet up for a drink. No wonder many lawyers have the reputation and stigma they have.
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17 Dec, 2022 by Anonymous
Bob was my attorney. He juggles as many things as possible, doing very little for each, but billing a Kings' ransom. .He literally did nothing but bill and double bill. He often, couldn't make court dates but would "prep" his partners and charge me for his time to "prep" and for his partners' time (double). Most divorces are simple =4 things. Bob refused to listen to what I asked and unethically carried out a simple divorce for two years . He would stand in front of the Judge as a mute. A second grader could do that ..but not bill like he did. I asked to speak to a Board member , with Bob , from his low energy behavior and he billed me for three attorneys presnent. Multiple mistakes made and took ZERO ownership. Could care less on the havoc he wrecked on my children from constantly being in Court for egregious stuff (if he showed). Take a look at how he he takes care of himself and that will be indicative of he will handle your case.
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03 Feb, 2020 by Kurtis j vandermolen
I inquired of services for my disability case and had great difficulty getting return messages from his daughter, paralegal. Messages were ambiguous and my replies were systematically lost. When I called this practice “inept” and “incompetent” after they closed my case, Barry wrote me a long scolding message absolving himself of blame and threatening to call the police on me. Barry is obtuse, petty, and pissed that he’s not a judge anymore. He really would have liked to cite me in contempt. As it is, he is actually just an attorney that you don’t want to deal with if you are seeking results.
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31 Mar, 2013 by Anonymous
I was very unimpressed with this attorney. I have used many attorneys over the last 30 years in business for various reasons, and I have never had to deal with one with such a poor attitude and a poor grasp of the situation we were dealing with. I cannot and will not ever recommend her in any situation.
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07 Jan, 2022 by Bridget
Had an eviction case in which I explained to the judge that I did NOT feel safe allowing other party to remain in home for another 10 days to nice eviction was granted . Judge Buter stated he did not think it would be an issue and completely dismissed my concern. A few days later the other party physically assaulted and hospitalized someone in the home , which could have been avoided if judge Buter would’ve taken me seriously. I feel ignored and now non trusting I. The justice system. So thank you so much for allowing this to happen. You should be terminated honestly
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17 May, 2019 by Derek
Our company engaged Ryan E. Lamb to handle breach of contract claims where clients were already notified, they just needed to be served lawsuits. In addition, he was to review our various contracts and bring to date. He promoted a "very experienced" collection team and we agreed that they would not be collected but sued for judgements. That did not happen. $10,045 bill later, no one was ever served, just sent collection letters. And the three different contracts he was to review separately and professionally alter separately, he combined into one big contract. An employee agreement, a client sales agreement and confidentiality agreement - what did he produce? One agreement that combined all three, we could not believe the level of inattention and issues we had. The firm offered no resolution, no apology, no refund, nothing. Be very cautious hiring this attorney, we had to hire competent counsel to get the jobs done.
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23 Mar, 2015 by Anonymous
Ms. Lane was appointed to me for federal court lawyer by the justice system, i could not find any reviews about her , not good or bad, when i requested another attorney i was told that there are very few federal legal attorneys in michigan to support me, i was pretty much stuck with her. needless to say , things did not go well for me and after the fact, i found out that had she presented evidence to the grand jury in the first trial after my indictment was served i may not have been sentenced to federal prison. i felt as if she did not even take my case seriously, she did not ask me about important things that made all the difference when i went to court and she led me to believe that i was going to walk out of the court room on the day of sentencing until hours before the sentence , then she sprung on me that i was going to go to prison. im not trying to scare people from her but i wish i had a review to read about her before i went forward with my case. in my experience she should not be working with the federal system, she was often late for our appointments and joked about having lunch with the judge, this made me feel uncompfortable from the first day i met her, and my gut instincts were right.
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17 Sep, 2018 by Anonymous
My son entered in to a bitter, violent, and volatile divorce in July 2018. He reached out to Jeff because he is supposed to be a strong representative for fathers involved in a divorce. After hiring him on July 5, 2018, we found that my son's case was not held as a priority to Jeff. He often didn't return responses to emails or phone calls in a timely manner. Even though the safety of my son's children were at risk, he put other clients ahead of his case. When we brought this to his attention, he stated that he is busy and has other clients. Court paperwork in regard to temporary custody of the children was forwarded to my son for review without Jeff reviewing it first. There were many obvious mistakes including using the name of a judge that had retired 5 years ago, incorrect child support computation, incorrect directions for the exchange of the children, failure to include joint legal custody, failure to include that his spouse was no longer allowed in the home. When asked why the paperwork had not been properly reviewed, Jeff stated he was working on other cases and thought it best to get the information to my son as soon as possible. The most egregious action, however, was his biased opinion of my son and his chances of getting custody of his children. From day one, he used the word "jerk" when describing how a judge might look at my son. He told him the court system in which he had to file, was one of the worst ones to work with. When the friend of the court referee met with Jeff, he advised my son that the referee was not going to work with him and didn't even want to hear his case. Jeff advised my son to just accept whatever he could work out with his spouse's attorney as it would be the best he would get. This does not sound like an attorney that is willing to work for his client in his best interest. I would caution any male that is involved in a divorce to research very carefully before hiring an attorney to represent them. In the 6 weeks that Jeff represented my son, there was not one thing accomplished that would hold any weight in court. This allowed his wife to take his children, withold them from him, break into their house and take many of his belongings, and make constant threats. No one should go through this situation without an attorney that is willing to dig in and fight for them. We have since hired another attorney and are very pleased with her. She has gotten a court order that gives him time with his children, protection of his home, and personal safety.
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12 Jun, 2023 by Anonymous
Hired this lawyer to fight for my daughter after her mother abandoned her for 14 year cooking meth and in and out of jail. Instead of him doing what we wanted in court he bent over backwards and did what the court wanted. Did nothing to help us. He knew I wanted to appeal the decision that he recommended to the courts which was the opposite of what we wanted. 2 months go on and he calls saying he didn't get anything from the courts until the judge signed the order. This lawyer is a joke. Does what he thinks is best instead of doing what's best for is client. Worst lawyer I've ever come met!!
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30 Oct, 2021 by Shane
He doesn’t return phone calls or emails but charges for reading the messages. He took months to even file the case. My wife wrote most of the petition with little help. But the worst is that he did absolutely no preparation to learn about the county in which we were dealing with and was completely unprepared for the hearing even though we provided him with all the information he could need in an easily readable format. He did little to support my petition and actually agreed with the opposing council that it didn't sound like a big deal. I knew immediately that I had lost and would not be able to get my son the help he needs. I spent thousands of dollars to end up in a worse situation than when I started.
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07 Jun, 2021 by Anonymous
I have CPTSD. My ex admitted he lied to me for years, taking my career from me, my contributions to social security, and professional growth . My ex’s salary $87,000. His lawyer suggested I live with my ex if I couldn’t afford to live on my own. Judge McNabb ordered just $600 a month for me to live on.
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10 Feb, 2017 by Anonymous
Mr. Roane represented me in a divorce. He failed to file papers as agree upon within 60 days. He didn't understand legal tactics used by the opposition. He advised me to accept a very low dollar amount. He failed to go after other typical compensation in divorces. He had conversations with the opposing lawyer without disclosing them to me in which the other lawyer told lies (because he was misled by my spouse). My lawyer chose to believe those lies for some unknown reason. They were untrue and there was no evidence to support the lies. There was plenty of evidence to support my facts. He acted like he was counsel for the other side. He overcharged me by over $10,000. The other side actually wrote the final agreement. My lawyer didn't even review it closely to find the loopholes in it. When you are going through a divorce and need a lawyer to be your advocate because you are in emotional pain, don't hire Mr. Roane. In my case, I paid way too much, and left with very little when there was lots to go after for a fair and equitable settlement. To add insult to injury, he actually called me to ask if I was still employed. Then he sent out a nice big final bill for doing next to nothing. Find someone else to represent you.
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08 Apr, 2013 by Terri
After hiring Curt Benson & leaving my photos, videos & receipts, he started dodging my calls, emails, even the ATG requests for communication. During this time, an agent from the insurance company showed up at my home while Toxic mold testing was being done after being told they could no longer be here as they had been through my home over 2 dozen times & it had been agreed upon that they had had enough time to get whatever they needed by then. The agent threw me to the ground, which he was found guilty of assault, by a jury. Also, the mold inspectors refused to allow him in as they had no gear needed for him to enter. So Curt Benson was told of the assault upon me & reminded of the agreement for the insurance agent to stay away & the mold inspectors refusal to allow anyone in & against our wishes & the wishes of the toxic mold inspector he still told the City Police to let it go & allow him to enter. When I brokered a deal with the insurance company months later, there were 2 checks sent to Curt Benson for me. When I went to retrieve my checks, Curt Benson refused to give me either check unless I would fraudulently sign my husbands name & give the lesser of the 2 checks to him. I actually have an eye witness who was there when this entire situation went down. I chased after Curt Benson for months trying to retrieve my case file after firing him, finally having to have another attorney help me. When I did retrieve it, my photos, videos and receipts were all missing. Somehow, the insurance company I was in this lawsuit with, came up with all my photos that had went missing from my case file. Later I learned Curt Benson had actually done a lot of business with this same insurance company before going into private practice. He as well had worked with the same attorney who the insurance company was using in my case. Never once informing us, even after I specifically asked him, if he knew any of them. I later learned that both Curt Benson & the insurance company`s attorney had worked in the same law office from about 1986 until about 1992. I had asked Curt Benson the first day I met him if he had ever worked with or knew anyone from this insurance company as that same morning before our first meeting, an agent from the insurance company called me asking about my appointment with Curt Benson. I asked him how the insurance company had known of our appointment. He claimed he had never worked with them nor did he know any of them & he stated he certainly had not told anyone our our meeting. After hiring another attorney, we were awarded a settlement, however, it was over turned with the Mi. Court of Appeals. We later learned his wife is a Mi. Court Of Appeals Judge. I am not hostile or spiteful here in the telling of my experience. I actually learned a lot through all of this. And as I told our second attorney, this was never about the money, but the way in which we were treated by the insurance company. I only wish Curt Benson had of understood us. And the fact that we were awarded the settlement, no matter that it was over turned, we won by public opinion, is all we wanted to begin with.
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26 Nov, 2018 by Anonymous
TERRIBLE COMMUNICATION !!! She did not inform me of the court dates until last minute! And got my case confused with another case!!! She asked me for information several times that I submitted to her already more than once. I feel she was very unorganized.
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Top Questions to Ask a Lawyer

When meeting with a lawyer for the first time, it's important to ask the right questions to understand their expertise and determine if they're the right fit for your legal needs. Here are some top questions to consider:

  1. What experience do you have with cases similar to mine?
    Ensure the lawyer has relevant experience in the specific area of law pertaining to your case.
  2. How do you charge for your services, and what are the estimated costs?
    Understand the fee structure, including hourly rates, flat fees, retainer fees, and any additional expenses.
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  4. What is your approach to handling cases like mine?
    Learn about their strategy, whether they prefer negotiation, mediation, or litigation.
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  8. Do you have references from past clients?
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  10. Are there alternative ways to solve my legal problem?
    Discuss options like mediation, arbitration, or settlement to resolve the issue efficiently.

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  1. Verify Their License:
    Check with your state's bar association to confirm the lawyer is licensed and in good standing.
  2. Experience and Specialization:
    Ensure the lawyer specializes in the area of law relevant to your case.
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  7. Consultation Assessment:
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  8. Ask for References:
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  • Fee Structures:
    • Hourly Rate:
      Lawyers may charge anywhere from $150 to $500 or more per hour, depending on experience and location.
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      For routine legal services like drafting a will or handling an uncontested divorce, lawyers might offer a flat fee.
    • Retainer Fee:
      An upfront payment against which the lawyer bills hourly fees.
    • Contingency Fee:
      Common in personal injury cases; the lawyer receives a percentage (typically 25% to 40%) of any settlement or award.
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      For ongoing services, businesses might pay a monthly fee for a set number of hours or services.
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    Discuss any additional expenses that may arise during the case.
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