[JLyle]

For those of you who are going through (or have completed) a domestic adoption, what are some questions you asked, or wish you had asked, when interviewing prospective adoption attorneys?

[lisa in venice]

Is adoption your specialty?

If not what kind of law do you mainly practice?

How many adoptions have you done? How many this year? How many of the type of child youa re searching for?

What kind of adoption resources do they have: counselors, maternity homes, SW, Dr (who take Medicaid) hospital SW, Adoption Service Providers (in state where they are needed) Do you know the people at the Sate ICPC office?

What is the law in your state? How do we move thru the process? How do you handle birth father's rights?

Have you ever had a contested adoptions? What were the circumstannces? How was it resolved?

Do you litigate? If not who is you litigator?

What is your fee structure? What do you charge and how is it billed: hourly or flat fee? What is included? Do your fees roll over if a situation does not work out?

Do you network or do any screening of birth parents? What kind of network do you have? How long does it usually take you to find the kind of child we are looking for?

Ask about their basic philosophy on adoption, how they feel about famiies like yours, what kind of relationships do they have with birth parents. (we ened up choosing one Attorney becasue of his gentle calm manner with birth parents. He made them feel comfortable but was also very honest with them and VERY ethical)

That is all I can t hink of right now.

lisa

[AdrienneG]

Thank you Lisa! Your post is very helpful! We think we found our lawyer but don't know yet til we ask some more questions.


Should I be worried that we haven't met her in her office? She said something about a trust account that would be a thousand dollars and when it runs out we put more in.

I really need to know what the expenses are, and Im asking for an itemized expenses list, and references.

I will keep an eye on this post so I know what to ask this woman.

[sneezyone]

Adrienne (#2 ) :
Attorneys are required to have trust accounts to keep client money separate from personal funds. They typically draw money from the trust as it is earned and send bills for any expenses in excess of your retainer fee. The amount of the retainer should vary based on the work you need performed - i.e. if you're asking for labor intensive search, match and counseling work, that would require a bigger retainer than a straight forward finalization. KWIM?? Our retainer for finalization was $500, roughly a third of the total cost.

The attorney can't really give you an itemized list of fees either (unless he/she is charging a flat fee) b/c she has no idea how much time things will actually take - every adoption is different. She might be able to give you an estimate, but it may vary widely from your actual cost.

Also, I'd not be too worried about having not met the attorney if you've got good references (from people you know or from folks on the boards, etc.) If you're really concerned you can always contact the state bar association to see if there have been/are any pending, resolved or unsubstantiated complaints made against the attorney.

OP:
I'd ask yourself how often you expect the attorney to be in contact with you - .2 hours here and there will add up quickly if he/she bills by the hour. Also how far is his/her office from the courthouse or hospital (driving time costs money too!!)?

Some attorneys will charge you for everything (every email, every voicemail listened to, phone call made, etc., some will give you a freebie here and there. I'd ask about her overall billing philosophy. Is the attorney under any obligation to meet billable hour requirements (more of an issue at big firms).

[AdrienneG]

Originally Posted by sneezyone

Adrienne (#2 ) :
Attorneys are required to have trust accounts to keep client money separate from personal funds. They typically draw money from the trust as it is earned and send bills for any expenses in excess of your retainer fee. The amount of the retainer should vary based on the work you need performed - i.e. if you're asking for labor intensive search, match and counseling work, that would require a bigger retainer than a straight forward finalization. KWIM?? Our retainer for finalization was $500, roughly a third of the total cost.

The attorney can't really give you an itemized list of fees either (unless he/she is charging a flat fee) b/c she has no idea how much time things will actually take - every adoption is different. She might be able to give you an estimate, but it may vary widely from your actual cost.

Also, I'd not be too worried about having not met the attorney if you've got good references (from people you know or from folks on the boards, etc.) If you're really concerned you can always contact the state bar association to see if there have been/are any pending, resolved or unsubstantiated complaints made against the attorney.

OP:
I'd ask yourself how often you expect the attorney to be in contact with you - .2 hours here and there will add up quickly if he/she bills by the hour. Also how far is his/her office from the courthouse or hospital (driving time costs money too!!)?

Some attorneys will charge you for everything (every email, every voicemail listened to, phone call made, etc., some will give you a freebie here and there. I'd ask about her overall billing philosophy. Is the attorney under any obligation to meet billable hour requirements (more of an issue at big firms).

Thanks Adrienne for explaining

It is an interstate adoption. So far we've had 2 email exchanges and met in person. She checked out fine with the state bar association. She says she has done 100 adoptions in the last 2 years, and worked in the school system and has clients who worked in the school system that she helped to adopt their children.

The pbmom chose us and wants us to adopt her baby...and she is my cousin. It looks like all we want her for is to help us to get the ICPC to get custody of the child and bring her to our state and the finalization.

[JLyle]

Thanks to everyone for all of the great advice so far! We're going for the initial consultation with the attorney on Monday afternoon and I'll let you know if we come up with any more questions in the meantime.