HIRING AN ATTORNEY CAN BE A STRESSFUL PROCESS.
You are not alone - most people would agree that this process can be difficult and time-consuming. The truth of the matter is that hiring an attorney can be an expensive endeavor. How do you make sure you make the right choice?
Here are a few tips:
Do you feel comfortable talking with the attorney?
Is the attorney/firm transparent about their billing practices?
Do you feel rushed when you speak with your attorney?
Are there other hidden charges, such as travel costs, courier costs, etc.?
Do they practice many different areas of the law?
Why hire us?
Our practice:
At Whatley Law Firm, not only do we practice exclusively in Family Law, we exclusively practice in Contra Costa County. This ensures that we know the process (which often differs from county to county), and are informed as to how to handle your case properly and with the least stress possible.
We also have broad experience working in all aspects of family law.
We have worked with many of the attorneys in the county and across the Bay Area, and strive to maintain good working relationships for our clients' benefit.
We also often appear in front of the family law judges, and are well-known by the staff at the courthouse.
While it is our philosophy to be settlement-oriented, we do not hesitate to use the legal system and the court's assistance to ensure that your legal rights are protected.
Communication:
We use technology to our advantage - our clients can communicate and most often send us information via e-mail. This saves our clients the time, money, and energy, the resources that are sorely needed during an often difficult period in their lives.
It is our general policy to return phone calls and emails within the day, whenever possible. We strive to keep all channels of communication open with our clients. Our clients do not need to wonder about what's going on in their case, and if they do ever wonder, they know they can contact us easily.
We offer the services of an attorney, a paralegal and a legal assistant , so that you can always stay in contact with us about your case.
Our location:
We are located a mere two blocks away from the Peter L. Spinetta Family Law Courthouse, which means we do not charge you for our travel time.
Because of our proximity to the courthouse, we also do not charge you for any courier fees or fees associated with transporting the documents to the courthouse for the judge's approval or for filing. If you have recently attempted to file documents at the Family Law Courthouse, you know that this is an often confusing process that can take at minimum one to two hours, and requires you to travel to Martinez. Furthermore, due to the budget, the filing hours at the courthouse are only 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. every business day. Our staff will handle the filing for you at no additional cost or hassle to you. After the documents are filed, a copy is also promptly sent to our client via email or U.S. Mail, depending on client preference.
For a low cost, we also offer a records retrieval service. Our staff will visit the Records Department to retrieve documents for clients or non-clients alike, if you are unable to visit the Records Department personally. This courier service is available in most cases.
You:
Are you out of the county, out of the state, or even the country? We have a lot of experience working with clients that cannot easily access the legal system due to their location. In today's age of advanced technology, it is very easy for us to communicate with clients.
We have experience working with people from all walks of life.