How do I evaluate a family law attorney in California?

Verify the license first: every California attorney's status and discipline history is public in the State Bar's records under Business and Professions Code section 6002 et seq. Then ask concrete questions — experience in your county's family courts, who handles the file day to day, billing structure, and settlement approach.

Begin with the objective record. Confirm through the State Bar of California's public attorney records that the license is active and free of discipline; only active licensees may practice law under Business and Professions Code section 6125. From there, evaluation is a set of concrete questions rather than labels. Ask how much of the practice is family law and how often the attorney appears in the specific county's family law departments, since local procedures on disclosures, mediation, and settlement conferences vary by court. Ask who will handle day-to-day work, how quickly calls are returned, and how the attorney approaches settlement versus litigation — most cases resolve by agreement, and temperament affects both cost and outcome. Finally, get the economics in writing: family law is typically billed hourly against a retainer, and Business and Professions Code section 6148 requires a written agreement stating rates and billing practices for most engagements.

Authority: Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 6125, 6148