On your quest to find the best divorce lawyers, you will probably scour the internet and look for popular reviews, read any and all negative feedback, and research the attorney’s experience to make an informed decision. If you have friends or family who hired a divorce attorney you will most likely consult them for recommendations, good and bad. If you are doing most of these things, you are on the right track, but caution must be used when navigating the internet, here’s why….
Without getting too technical, the internet can be populated in a manner that does not represent the most accurate information, especially when it comes to ratings. When you search for the "best divorce lawyers in Chicago" or "top divorce attorneys in Chicago," the listings you see first are likely to be paid ads. The top and side items are always paid ads, which is not necessarily a bad thing but it’s also not necessarily indicative of the actual best divorce lawyers. See where we’re going with this?
Family law is a business that provides a service just like any other business: a hair salon, a grocery store, a dental office or dog walker. The job of a family law attorney is to provide clients with legal guidance during their domestic disputes which included but is not limited to divorce, child custody, legal separation, maintenance (alimony) and orders of protection. This is an important concept to understand when searching for the ideal attorney as the same rules apply to any business advertised online.
All businesses require some type of marketing effort in order to reach their prospective clientele, brand their name, and sell their products or services. If nobody can find a business online, it makes it quite difficult for that business to succeed and attract new business. A divorce attorney is no exception.
Several legal websites which do an excellent job of providing feedback and information regarding family law attorneys are:
- Avvo
- SuperLawyers
- Yelp
- Findlaw
- Justia
The reason these sites are credible is because they are run by well-established companies that take actual client and colleague feedback when ranking family law attorneys. For example, SuperLawyers uses a complicated formula combined with an accredited nomination system to select the attorneys listed on their website. Anyone can create a website, blog or post commentary on the internet that can be positive or negative. The above sites are so advanced they are typically able to weed out any fraudulent activity.
For instance, if there is an attorney who has 10 positive Yelp reviews that have spanned several years then all of a sudden gets a few really nasty reviews it is most likely from a disgruntled client. Yelp has mechanisms in place to safeguard against brand new users posting fraudulent reviews. This is to prevent BOTH angry clients from intentionally trying to destroy a company’s reputation and companies trying to inflate their positive reputation. If new users with no prior “reputation” post negative feedback or positive feedback to a company multiple times a red flag goes off and the content can be removed.
Another key factor to take into consideration when searching for the best divorce lawyers in Chicago is that not all attorneys advertise online. Many attorneys have been late entering the digital marking world resulting in little online presence. This should not automatically disqualify anyone from your roster of potential attorney, but you may have to do more due diligence to receive a more comprehensive picture of their track record.