Although a lawyer may not be absolutely necessary, having a knowledgeable lawyer who will fight for you in court can change the whole legal experience for you. It can be intimidating to speak up in front of a judge or to know what your legal rights are in the court process if you are representing yourself.

A person who wants to file a case in court should be able to get the necessary forms from the courthouse or online from the state’s courts website. For civil protection orders, the forms are often designed to be filled out by a person without a lawyer and can be fairly straight-forward. However, for cases that are more complicated, such as divorce, filling out the forms correctly and knowing what to write in the forms to try to get the best outcome can be challenging to do alone. Also, once the court case has begun, the other party involved may file legal papers (motions) that need to be answered in a certain legal format, which can be difficult to do without a lawyer.

A lawyer can be especially important if the other party has a lawyer and/or if the case cannot be resolved and the judge is going to hold a hearing or trial. There are complicated “rules of evidence” that spell out what type of statements, documents, or other evidence can be admitted (accepted by a judge) in court, which a lawyer would know.

Choosing the right attorney to represent you can be crucial to your case. Before deciding whether or not you want to retain (hire) the attorney, you should interview the attorney to see if you think s/he is qualified, just as you would interview anyone that you are hiring to perform any job. (However, interviewing and choosing an attorney may not be an option if you are assigned an attorney from a free legal services organization or if the judge assigns an attorney to you.) Here are some questions that may be helpful to guide you in your initial meeting with an attorney:

• How long have you been practicing? What types of cases do you usually handle? How many of those have gone to trial?
• How many cases involving domestic violence victims (or custody, divorce, etc.) have you handled? What is your view of how domestic violence should be introduced in court in a case like mine (i.e., is it important, not relevant, etc.)?
• Here is what I would like to accomplish in my case (explain your goals) – do you think that is a realistic outcome or not?
• Can you explain to me what relevant laws will come into play in my case? What will a judge look at when making a decision?
• What type of communication do you expect us to have during the case. If I email you, how long will you usually take to reply? If I call you, when can I expect a call back?

It is also important to understand all of the fees that you will be expected to pay and what those fees cover. Most attorneys will ask for a lump sum up front, known as a retainer. This often covers the hourly rate of the attorney for the number of hours that the attorney estimates s/he will spend on your case. Below is a list of suggested questions that you can ask an attorney to best understand the total costs, many of which come from the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence:

• What are your fees? What work do these fees cover? Is this an hourly fee or a flat fee for the entire case?
• Is there an additional charge per court date for every time you appear in court?
• Do you charge a retainer? How much? What does it cover? Do you refund all or part of the retainer if my case ends up being dropped or not taking much time? (Attorneys should be willing to refund any part of the retainer not spent; make sure the agreement clearly indicates that any unused retainer money will be returned to you.)
• Are there other expenses that I may have to pay, such as filing fees, mailing or copying fees? What are they and how much are they likely to be? Will I be charged for your time if we speak on the phone or if we email each other?
• Will you be the only person working on my case? If not, what will other people do? How will I be charged for their work? Will I be charged for speaking to your secretary and/or receptionist?
• Are there ways that I can assist you to keep down my costs?
• Will you send me a copy of letters, documents, and court papers that you file or receive regarding my case?
• Do you charge extra if the case gets more complicated or we have to go back to court multiple times?
• Will you require that I have paid everything that I owe you before you will go to court with me or finish my case? (Many attorneys do this. They may also refuse to return your original papers or copies of your file, and in some states, this may be legal. Therefore, you should insist on getting a copy of any paper filed with the court, given to, or received from, another party or otherwise relevant to your case at the time the paper is filed or received. Be sure to keep all of them in a safe place, in case you ever need them.)
• Are you willing to work out a payment plan with me? Do you ever adjust your fees on a sliding scale for people who cannot afford your regular rate?
• Will you put our agreement about fees and work you will perform in writing?
• Will I receive a monthly invoice for services rendered and the amount of money owed/used for that period?

Note: In some states, the law allows the judge to order the higher-income spouse to pay the attorney fees of the lower-income spouse. If there is a big difference in the income level between you and your spouse, ask the attorney if this is possible under your state’s laws and make sure the attorney is willing to ask the judge to order this. Some attorneys may not want to make this legal request to the judge since it might mean that the attorney will have to wait to the end of the case to receive payment.

Your lawyer is supposed to advocate for you and represent your interests in the case to the judge. Your lawyer can make strategic decisions on the case such as what evidence to present, which witnesses will testify, etc. However, you are the only one who can make decisions about what type of settlement to accept in the case. For example, if the other parent wants joint custody or unsupervised visits and you feel this is not in the best interests of you or your child, you do not have to agree to this just because your lawyer might want you to. You can tell your lawyer to refuse the offer and go to trial. However, people often agree to settlement offers that might not be exactly what they want in order to prevent possibly ending up with an even worse outcome at trial. Your lawyer should give you information and advice to help you make an educated decision about whether to settle or go to trial. Your lawyer can tell you the likelihood of winning your case based on what the law says and how judges tend to rule in your county. You should consider all of your lawyer’s advice carefully – but the final decision is yours.

Before your court hearing, you can ask the lawyer how s/he is planning to present your case to the judge. Remember that while you are in front of the judge, your lawyer is probably trying to sift through everything you have told him/her to pick out the things that are most important to bring up in court. If you think the lawyer forgot something or said something incorrect to the judge, be sure to let your lawyer know. You know the facts of your case better than anyone and you are an important part of your “legal team.” Don’t be intimidated by your lawyer. It is important to have a voice in the relationship with your lawyer.

Remember that while your lawyer has special expertise in practicing law, you are the one that has hired the lawyer, and it is your case that s/he is working on. You will be the one who has to live with the outcome of the case long after your lawyer has moved on to other clients.

If you cannot afford a lawyer, but cannot get free legal services, you might be able to ask the judge to order the other party (husband, ex-husband, boyfriend, ex-boyfriend, etc) to pay for your lawyer’s legal fees. Depending on the type of case and the state you live in, sometimes judges evaluate your financial situation as well as the other party’s financial situation and can order the other person to pay for any legal fee or cost involved in the legal process. When looking for a private lawyer, you can ask if s/he would be willing to make this request on your behalf in court. If it is a divorce case where you expect to be getting a large sum of money in a divorce settlement, perhaps the lawyer may delay getting paid until the case is complete or work out a payment plan. For certain cases, such as a personal injury case or an employment discrimination case, you may likely be able to find a lawyer who will take your case for a contingency fee – where the lawyer will get a percentage of the money from your winnings in the case.

You may also want to contact any law schools in your area because sometimes they have legal clinics and can take cases for free. In these clinics, law school students provide assistance and representation under the supervision of their professors.