The Importance of Qualified Legal Counsel

 Posted on August 29, 2014 in Divorce

A recent spate of cases involving courts citing businesses for the unlicensed practice of law highlights the importance of using a licensed attorney during the divorce process. A recent case on this issue comes from the Ohio Supreme Court, but it is a problem that can occur just as easily in any other state.

State governments closely monitor the people who practice law to ensure that they have the training to competently represent others in court. Those who are not properly licensed and trained can end up making mistakes that cost their clients. That is exactly what happened in the Ohio case that ended up with the company making a mistake that left their client's divorce papers useless. Consequently, it is important for discerning people seeking a divorce to ensure that they use a properly licensed attorney if they want counsel during the process.

Fast Divorce Companies

The case in Ohio involved a woman seeking a divorce from her husband based on irreconcilable differences. This requires the person seeking the divorce, the petitioner, to file paperwork with the court. The paperwork needs to include a variety of different pieces of information and proposed resolutions to the divorce, like division of property. One of the things that the paperwork needed to include was proposed provisions for child support and child custody arrangements after the divorce. The paperwork, which cost hundreds of dollars to prepare, did not include such provisions, which meant that the court would not accept the filing, requiring it to be redone without assistance.

Making Sure Someone is a Licensed Attorney

In order to avoid such a thing happening, it is important to ensure that the person preparing the paperwork is a licensed attorney. Making sure that someone in Illinois is a licensed attorney is a simple task that can be done online. All attorneys must register themselves with the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (“IARDC”). The IARDC is a service run by the Illinois Supreme Court that tracks all the state's attorneys. The IARDC tracks an attorney's business address, his or her current license status, whether he or she carries malpractice insurance, and a public record of any disciplinary proceedings that may have occurred related to the attorney. The website for the IARDC contains a public search function. This search, which operates based on the attorney's last name, allows potential clients to access the IARDC information so that they can make an informed decision about who they would like to hire.

If you are considering filing for divorce, seek out help from qualified legal counsel in the form a DuPage County divorce attorney. Our skilled team of professionals can put their experience to work for you, guiding you through the entirety of the divorce process and making sure things get done right the first time.