Divorce Lawyers Near Me: Cautions for Google Searchers

Google is big.  Today, 88 percent of all searches are conducted in Google.  Results often require scrolling through hundreds of listings, beginning with paid advertising and maps. Google then uses complex algorithms, including website popularity, crawlability, and structure, to index a site and eventually decide who gets placed at the top. Google updates its algorithms 500+ times a year.

Divorce Lawyers Near Me Is Not a Stagnant Listing

First, notice that searching for a “divorce lawyer near me” in Google produces results that change frequently.  Paid ads appear first, followed by Google rankings of divorce lawyers.  Since Google’s unique indexing system focuses on website design and structure, you will agree that this is not a foolproof way to select a divorce lawyer for one of the most important transitions of your life. You need more information about a lawyer’s competence or experience in family law.

You may see helpful reviews from the divorce lawyer’s Google My Business page, but there are additional considerations.

Additional Considerations About Google Reviews

1. Anyone can post a review, and Google does little policing of reviews.
2. Reviews, whether justified or unjustified, are often difficult to remove. On the other hand, if a divorce lawyer has no negative reviews, this is also a red-flag warning. Could it mean negative reviews have been removed?
3. Remember that lawyers cannot respond to reviews without compromising the client/attorney confidentiality agreement.

Now that you are aware of the cautions of searching for “divorce lawyer near me” through Google Search, there are a few ways to pare down your choices.

Referrals

Ask family and friends for referrals of divorce lawyers.  Their reviews and recommendations are often helpful and may be predictive of the likely success of your case. Along with your divorce lawyer interview, relying on recommendations will help you enter this situation feeling better prepared and firmly grounded in your interview and research process.

 Peer-Reviewed Lawyers: The Better Way to Search

Whether you have a lawyer’s name from a referral or search by practice area, one of the best ways to check on a lawyer’s competence is through the Martindale-Hubbell (MH) site directory.  MH peer review ratings are the gold standard in attorney ratings. Importantly, no review can be paid for or influenced in any way.

Martindale-Hubbell is a directory of peer-reviewed lawyers.  To you, this means that lawyers have been evaluated by judges and other lawyers, some of whom are opponents in legal cases. MH ratings indicate that the lawyer has the skill and integrity to guide you through the legal considerations of divorce.  The MH directory has been around since 1868, providing clients with the ability to search for specialties, such as divorce law or child custody law. With its long history of credible reviews and ratings, even lawyers use MH to identify, evaluate, and select the most appropriate lawyer for specific legal issues.

 The Best of the Best Lawyers

A few lawyers, only about 10 percent, have received the MH’s AV Preeminent Rating, the highest rating of professional excellence earned through strenuous peer review ratings collected from the confidential opinions of Bar and Judiciary members. MH additionally offers a Distinguished Rating for an attorney who has some experience and is widely respected by their peers for their professional achievement and ethical standards. MH’s Notable Rating is for lawyers who have been recognized for demonstrating strong ethical standards.

Additional Questions: What to Ask a Lawyer

Armed with the MH ratings, it is crucial to build a trusted relationship and understand how your lawyer will communicate with you.  Start by asking the prospective divorce lawyer how you will be involved in the process.  Will you be respected as a valuable partner throughout the process?  Will you receive copies of all correspondence and documents as well as informed of legal processes?  How and when can you expect to receive updates?  Is there a “hackproof way” of receiving and sending documents? Remember that the attorney-client privilege does not protect email attachments, such as those sent through Yahoo, Google, etc., so be sure that the divorce lawyer has a secure portal for document exchange.

To be better prepared, ask the divorce lawyer to share their experiences in successfully negotiating or litigating other cases that had similar issues to those presented by your case. Ask if there other ways to solve your specific legal problem.

Divorce Lawyer Near Me: Louisville, Lafayette, Boulder, Denver, Westminster, Longmont

In March, I moved my office from Westminster to Louisville.  If you live in or near a community other than Louisville, this move may make it a little harder to locate me under “divorce lawyer near me” in Google Search.  Yet, while my location has changed, my mission has not.  I am dedicated to helping clients where I can make a difference in moving beyond their current situation.  I believe that the way to take the fear out of divorce, child custody, and other family law issues is to replace fear with information and outcome-based planning for the future.  With knowledge and integrity, I will personally work with you to produce results that matter.  There are few do-overs in divorce or family law practice’s other crucial areas, such as child custody, so let’s work together to get this right.

Gary Pulitzer

Martindale-Hubbell Preeminent rating and a 2021 Client Champion designation