Hi there, my name is Stacey and today we are talking about something that can make or break your separation experience and that is finding the right lawyer. Now I'm not talking about the Flush's website or the one that's got the biggest offers, I'm talking about somebody who actually gets it. So a few things that you might want to consider. Oh hang on, what's that? Sorry, Jim. I'm talking about finding someone who actually gets it. So a few things you want to consider is some lawyers have a massive ego problem. They think they're the best thing since sliced bread. They are unnecessarily aggressive. Sorry, I'm going to have to cough. They are unnecessarily aggressive because I think that it makes them look tough and that clients like that. Look, some do, majority don't. And I have seen lawyers and have experienced lawyers who turn simple property settlements into World War III because they feel they have something to prove. So if that's a lawyer for you, go for it. Majority of people are not interested in that. The red flag for that is that they tend to be more interested in showing off than solving your problem. So have a first consultation and see what your gut says. Do they listen to you or do they talk over the top of you? That's really going to determine how you feel about that lawyer. Ask them maybe how they work. So how quickly do you typically respond to emails? Because everybody's urgent is different and everybody works differently as well. So that could be something you might want to ask. You want a lawyer that's going to explain things in plain English and not with legalese. Something you should want to do is have a chat about costs. So get everything in writing before you start. Ask about any additional costs. So court filing fees, expert reports, barristers, et cetera. A great lawyer will be upfront about potential costs and not surprise you later. So cost is something that we just get over and done with. Everybody is expected them. It's really hard to give a cost sometimes. Sometimes we have to just give an estimate. But we always keep our clients up to date. Mm hmm. Another one is the chemistry factor, which I kind of touched on before with the gut feelings. So you need to be comfortable feeling vulnerable with this lawyer. And unfortunately, your relationship with this lawyer might go on for longer than maybe you're thinking. So please do trust your instincts. If something feels off, it probably is. So you might have heard, you know, the most expensive lawyer is the best lawyer. Not necessarily. Lawyers can charge whatever they want. So just because they charge an arm and a leg doesn't mean that they're necessarily good either. So see what history they have. Check their Google reviews as well. That's a great one. Aggressive lawyers often get better results. Usually not. Usually just creates more conflict and creates more cost for you. All lawyers are the same. Definitely not. I know that we don't have the best of right, but not all of us lawyers are the same. um look finding the right lawyer is just one piece of that puzzle there's so much more to navigate your separation successfully from understanding the legal process to managing the emotional roller coaster um finding the right lawyer is just a small part of that but if you'd like more practical in-depth guidance on that entire journey please check out my empowered separation program where I'll walk you through everything step by step My stupid teleprompter just skipped a whole bar. Way to go. Check out my Empowered Separation Program where I walk you through everything step by step, not just the legal but the emotional and the holistic side of that. I intertwine the both things together because you can't have emotions and, you know, going through your separation without the legal side as well. But please do remember that this is your life, it's your future, it's your money, it could be, you know, what determines whether you're able to, you know, set yourself up for the future with purchasing a home if that's what you want for your children or send them to that private school, whatever that might be. So all that needs to be taken into consideration and you deserve a lawyer who treats you that way. So And you want to get the lawyer right first up because it'd be really, really difficult to, and you'd be paying more money if you were to swap lawyers mid-process. And some lawyers don't accept transferred files. We don't. So it's not something that we do. If a file is getting transferred, there's usually a reason for that. And, you know, the client and the lawyer have had a falling out perhaps. But it's also something that Law Cover, our insurer, isn't a fan of. So we don't take... transferred files so you have to really make sure that when you have engaged that lawyer that that is a lawyer that feels good um knows what um you're expecting or what you what you're hoping um to achieve in your family law matter so um you know you could go to a lawyer and you might have everything worked out and then that lawyer is going to go right we're going to go to court we're going to take them for all they've got blah blah blah that happens I know lawyers who do that that might be your thing if it's not your thing you need to make sure that they're aligned with how you want your matter to go and you know it's not going to be all rainbows and unicorns but picking the right lawyer um is definitely a very important step when you are navigating that family law process so I hope that has helped you as I said I go into far more depth in my empowered separation program which the details will be below but it is a question that pops up uh pretty regularly so I thought I'd just touch on it today to give you some ideas um to think about when you are looking at engaging a lawyer and if you're in that stage I do wish you the best of luck and as usual please tune into our socials and our podcast to just get some tips to get you through your family law matter because we don't touch just on family law or you know, anything else that I do. I've just had a complete mental blank, but, you know, we touch on the emotion side as well. And, you know, that's just as important when you're going through that family law space. So I hope this has helped. Please share this with anybody who might be going through this situation and I will catch you all next week. See you.
