Excellent family lawyer in the Berkshires?
January 10, 2011 9:36 AM   Subscribe

Family law in the Berkshires filter - I need some suggestions for an excellent, attentive, effective family lawyer practicing in the Berkshires in Massachusetts. I got a few suggestions from friends/family members, and they are not reviewing very strongly on the usual online sources.

I'm having some issues creating a throwaway email account for some reason, sorry. However, my issue is child custody.
posted by anonymous to Law & Government (3 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
I'm a lawyer, and I generally think the Martindale-Hubbell AV rating is a pretty good indicator of who is a solid, well-respected, and experienced practitioner. It is at least a good starting point for some attorneys to contact. I poked around and found these lawyers who look pretty good:

Lee Flournoy (AV-rated general practice, but lists family law as an area she works in)

Griffin and Goulka (has at least one AV-rated lawyer and lists family law among their areas of practice)

Cohen Kinne Valicenti Cook (looks pretty solid, judging by the credentials of their members, and they list family law as an area of practice)

There is a HUGE range of quality in family law attorneys; it's an area with very low barriers to entry, so if you bargain-hunt you may run across some really bad shysters. Penny pinching in selecting legal counsel is almost always a bad idea. For quality representation, be prepared to pay a very pretty penny; that's just the way it goes.
posted by jayder at 9:59 AM on January 10, 2011 [1 favorite]


I have no recommendations, but wanted to second the AV ratings from MH. A lot of research goes into giving these out - it's not something you pay $50 for and you get a certificate the next day. My managing partner went through it and he was (pleasantly) surprised at the thoroughness. He's also now AV rated (which I totally think he is).
posted by Leezie at 10:30 AM on January 10, 2011


Look at Ann Deely in Lee, MA. She is very good at what she does.

I also second Cohen Kinne Valicenti Cook, I have not worked with them but they are good people. I went to school with one of the partners.

I am hesitant to share which lawyers you should avoid, but there are some of those as well around here. Contact me off list...
posted by alfanut at 6:17 PM on January 10, 2011


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