Divorce lawyers- how to find one?

Do you know any divorced women who think their husbands got away with financial murder as a result of their divorce? Many, many years ago (while working as a teenaged babysitter for a number of single moms) I would hear the same name over and over from women who felt they'd gotten screwed on their divorce settlement. The husbands all seemed to have the same divorce lawyer. I never forgot the name and called him twenty years later when I began divorce proceedings of my own. They were right - he was very good.

Angry ex-wives are a good source of info if you can find out who represented their ex-husbands.

mmm, no. I don't know anyone or anything. The only place I can think of to start is where I got my certitficate in mediation, but I don't expect them to be cheap or inclined to hand me information about lawyers or other mediators, so that actually does not seem like the best place to start. Other than asking for a quote so I can compare with others...

You can go to Findlaw and look for lawyers by specialty in any given area. (Other sites like NOLO may offer the same sort of thing.).

Divorces in MA tend to be expensive. It's not an easy state to get a divorce in.

I don't know what her situation is but it is possible that if she makes a decent wage here in MA he could force her to pay for his lawyer.

no, she doesn't. She lived with him in India for 25 years, now she moved here and is finishing her PhD, working in bars at night. I don't really know how she can afford a good lawyer, but she does have one and if she gets her way, he will end up almost destitute.
It's weird, because they had a great marriage, and did not part in a bad way. There might be things I don't know, but all I want to do is to find someone reliable and affordable and not to get in the middle of it too much- they are both from my field and important contacts for me. Sigh.

Is it possible that they parted amicably but then her lawyer took it in a different direction? Unfortunately, that happens sometimes (apologies to the attorneys here). Maybe that's where the divorce mediator might come in. Get them talking to a neutral party that will remind them of the 25 years they spent together.

I'm trying to think of options here but let me ask something while I poke around - In your opening post you said the divorce will take place mid October. Has this been in the works for some time or is this the initial court proceeding?

These may be starting points:

Legal Services
Provides free legal services for those who are income eligible.

Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc: Provides direct representation, Pro Se
37 Friend St., Lynn, MA 01902 Divorce Clinic, and Helpline advice
(781) 599-7730 to Southern Essex County

Merrimack Valley Legal Services, Inc.: Provides family law services to
11 Lawrence St., Lawrence, MA 01840 Northern Essex County
(978) 687-1177


Reduced Fee Lawyer Referral Programs
Provides referrals to lawyers who charge reduced fees.
Call for eligibility requirements:

Boston Bar Association (Greater Boston) 16 Beacon St., Boston, MA 02108
(617) 742-0625, (800) 392-6164

Mass. Bar Association (statewide)
20 West St., Boston, MA 02111
(617) 542-9103

National Lawyer's Guild
14 Beacon Street, Suite 407
Boston, MA 02108
(617) 227-7008

Essex County Bar Referral (Essex County)
36 Federal Street
Salem, MA 01970
(978) 741-7888

ah, thanks so much! I'll call around those places.

mid-october, i think that's the initial proceeding. that's when he's coming to Boston for only a few days to meet with her and the lawyer. I think he hopes to settle it, but i really have no clue how these things work.

Ok, this might be useful info to relay to him.

In MA you can file for divorce under 3 different chapters.

The 1st is a no-fault, dual petition. That means that both parties agree that they want the divorce and no one is claiiming any of the 7 or 8 "fault factors" exist and they agree on the terms of the divorce. If they go this route then they appear together and sign the documents in front of the judge in Mid-October and 120 days later they are divorced.


The 2nd is a "Contested, no-fault". In this one only one of the parties files but they aren't claiming any of the fault factors exist and/or if they don't agree on the terms. If they are going this route then the filer has to go back to court 6 months after the inital court date and on THAT date they file a ton of paperwork and they get a trial date for some point in the future.

The 3rd is an "At fault" divorce. In theis case one of them would be claiming the other committed one or more of the fault factors (the fault factors are things like abuse, abandonment, etc..). This is handled the same way as the 2nd type except the filer has to prove the faults at the trial.


It sounds like they are in the 2nd category. If so he can use any lawyer for the mid-October court date and work on terms afterwards.

Here is a link to one of the country probate courts with more detailed info:
http://www.hampshireprobate.com/Divorce%20Info/divorce_information.htm