Interview for the Decisions Your Case Requires
You are about to ask a lawyer to advise on your children's schedule, your house, and your retirement accounts. The useful interview is not about slogans. It is about whether the lawyer can explain the next decision, the evidence it requires, and the tradeoff between settlement and litigation.
Ask How the Work Will Be Handled
Ask who will handle daily communication, how financial records will be organized, when settlement proposals will be evaluated, and how fees will be reported. Then test the answers against the issues in your case: custody, equitable distribution, alimony, business or retirement assets, and court procedure.
The lawyer should be able to distinguish a goal from a guaranteed result. Clear advice includes what the facts support, what remains uncertain, and which decision belongs to the client.