I am very stressed regarding whether I retained the right attorney.
The initial attorney I consulted with was super savy. But very expensive. (Wealthy Relatives of relatives used him with much success) He witnessed my ex refusing to pay child support. He saw the situation from the beginning when I was tying so hard to salvage the relationship and hoping for reconciliation. I was worried that he was promising me too much though. I worried that he was a lawyer you hired if you had a lot of money and assets (which we don't). He seemed to be prepared more for court. Very cocky and arrogant but also very polished. Maybe a bit underhanded, but definatly the person that would work to get you the best possible settlement.
Over a year later I ended up retaining a female lawyer who was slightly less expensive and closer to my home. When I first consulted her, she definatly made it out like ex was hiding money and she would find it. She marketed herself as someone that could avoid court and negotiate.
Once I retained her, she Approached it like it was a simple case and is indicating that i should be prepared for alimony based upon what my salary would be if I went to work full time. To be honest, I could have mediated a settlement like that. She might be good at figuring out where husbands money is though. I don't really know yet. She is very detail oriented though.
She sees my ex being cooperative with his child support settlements and I don't know if it's my imagination, but I am not sure that she sees me as the one wronged. Maybe because she is a female working full time, she feels that I should be too? (I am just speculating here but I felt more sympathy from the other attorney)
And yes, I know I am writing myself up as a victim. But I feel wronged. I want justice. And I really don't feel that ex was fair.
So I'm not sure. It is so expensive of a process. I am even wishing I just mediated first, and then retained lawyers post. Cause I would have saved money that way.
