If your case is in orange county, is it advisable to have an LA-county based attorney to represent you?
I’m going through a divorce case. My wife had filed it, it was in orange county. I had an attorney, recommended by a friend, whose practice is based in LA. The court will be in Orange. But would it matter if your attorney business is based in LA or Orange county?
2 Responses
maliboo_girl
28 Feb 2010
Kathy P
28 Feb 2010
It would probably be better to get an Orange County attorney who knows the judges and is familiar with the court system there, and who knows the other attorneys. Also, your LA lawyer may want to charge you travel time. And the LA attorney might need to take time to get familiar with the Orange County court, which they may bill you for. Also, if a motion needs to be filed, the Orange County attorney will be local and more easily able to do it. Good luck, divorce is no fun.
You should ask the attorney if it makes a difference to them, have they handled cases in front of the OC court, will the distance be a problem? With many it won’t matter, with some it might. They might not be comfy with the OC courts if they’re not used to go in front of the family court there. With big business litigation it doesn’t matter, my dh has major clients in the OC and goes in front of OC judges even though his firm is based in LA. But like I wrote, some family lawyers might feel differently.
It’s so hard to know about an attorney, even if you get a recommendation. If you foresee much difficulty with division of property, child support/visitiation, etc, you might want to interview a few and see how you feel and then check into them. Family law is kind of at the bottom of the ladder, so even supposed good attorneys aren’t necessarily what you might expect. Sorry, I know that’s not what you want to hear at this time.
Good luck!