Looking for a Divorce Lawyer in Boston

March 15, 2016 7:48 AM

A friend is looking for a divorce lawyer in Boston who is reasonably-priced and ideally offers a free consultation. Also, any advice about what he should bring to/ask at the consultation would be extremely helpful.

Additional details: They have a (minor) child involved, so custody issues are in the mix. This will hopefully be a reasonably amicable split but could potentially get nasty.

If necessary we can update in the post with more information. Throwaway email: [e-mail]. Thanks!

posted by anonymous to Law & Government (4 answers total)

They might read about Boston Law Collaborative if the friend is interested in avoiding litigation. Divorce Mediation Primer (old document but a place to start).

Likely friend can have an initial consult to see if it's what they're after.
Case study here.

Highly recommend the collaborative law process, ex and I did it (with minor children). Each party has to have a lawyer, so...even "amicable" is not easy or inexpensive...
posted by xaryts at 10:52 AM on March 15, 2016

I started out my divorce with John A. Fiske- he is one of the first lawyers to do mediation, and is amazing. I really think he is a Buddha. Mediation did not work for my situation, so John recommended a lawyer (who has since died) who was great for me. My lawyer was an older guy who did not engage with me emotionally AT ALL. I had wasted a lot of money on another lawyer initially who would listen to me rant and rave and bill me for it.

I am pretty sure that most lawyers offer a free consult.
posted by momochan at 2:28 PM on March 15, 2016

I was pretty well satisfied (I can't say "happy" in this contex) with my lawyer, Howard Goldstein, who does both conventional divorce and mediation. He is in Newton.
posted by mr vino at 3:59 PM on March 15, 2016

Can't offer any Boston suggestions, but I would bring financial paperwork to the consultation. Last year's tax return, 401k info, current bank statements, debt, anything shared that may have to be split. This will be gone through in detail later but it's good for the attorney to have an idea of the complexity.

Ask what the retainer is, the hourly rate of the attorney, and the hourly rate of paralegals. How often do they bill? How long does the process generally take? Will the child require a separate lawyer?

Find out if MA is a community property state because this will make a huge difference in how assets and liabilities are split.
posted by desjardins at 1:14 PM on March 16, 2016