How to hire a family lawyer

How to hire a family lawyer, step by step

Here's a step-by-step family lawyer hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a family lawyer job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new family lawyer
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the family lawyer you need to hire. Certain family lawyer roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A family lawyer's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, family lawyers from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list presents family lawyer salaries for various positions.

   Type of Family Lawyer	Description	Hourly rate
   Family Lawyer	Lawyers advise and represent individuals, businesses, and government agencies on legal issues and disputes.	$17-63
   Attorney	Generally, an attorney's responsibility is to advise the client with an ongoing lawsuit on the legal procedures and provide strategies to resolve the case as early as possible. An attorney compiles necessary documents or any records for appeal and client's defense... Show more	$33-82
   Contract Attorney	A contract attorney is responsible for handling their clients' legal issues and settling cases by researching, analyzing, and collecting essential files that would support the clients' claims. Contract attorneys usually work for private clients without being permanently employed in a law firm or government agency... Show more	$28-75

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Legal Issues
   • Child Support

   Responsibilities:

   • Provide litigation support by leading case investigations, gathering underwriting, claim, and agency information and subpoena responses.
   • General civil practice focusing on real property matters, business entity formation/representation, estate planning, and probate.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your family lawyer job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A family lawyer salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, family lawyers' average salary in hawaii is 63% less than in new york.
   • Seniority. Entry-level family lawyers earn 72% less than senior-level family lawyers.
   • Certifications. A family lawyer with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a family lawyer's salary.

   Average family lawyer salary

   $70,704yearly

   $33.99 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level family lawyer salary

   $37,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 20, 2026

4. Writing a family lawyer job description

   A job description for a family lawyer role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a family lawyer job description:

   Family lawyer job description example

   We are a Compassion Driven Counsel Family Law Firm with fantastic high-profile clients that are an absolute joy to work with. We are seeking a full-time attorney for family law firm with litigation exp.
   
   You are a self-starter with excellent writing and organizational skills. High ethical standards, attention to detail, empathy, and a sense of humor are all essential. Relevant experience is preferred.
   
   You will gracefully communicate with clients, busy court staff, and opposing attorneys, organize case files, review financial and medical documents, draft legal pleadings, and meet strict deadlines.
   
   We are a remote firm and encourage you to dress casually, be yourself, and always strive to do better for our clients. Because we believe that this is work that matters.
   
   We are seeking an Family Law Attorney to join our rapidly growing family law team! Some team members are in the office full-time, some work at home full time, and some do a hybrid of work from home and office.
   
   You will represent clients in Family Law Superior Court proceedings, prepare legal documents/pleadings, and advise clients in divorce & family law related matters on a daily basis.
   Qualifications: Provide solutions to various legal questions; Strong analytical and problem solving skills; Enjoy engaging in oral and written advocacy; Assess urgency of situations and determine accurate and appropriate actions; Takes pride in their work product and strong attention to detail (you want to kick yourself when you send that email and notice a typo!); Self-motivated, ethical and reliable; Ability to build rapport with clients, opposing parties, opposing counsel, third parties and court personnel; Team player with growth mindset; Successful candidates must be ambitious and driven, possess a strong work ethic, a growth mindset and have good interpersonal skills. Very competitive compensation. Employment inquiries are kept strictly confidential. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, age, color, sex (including pregnancy), religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, military status, genetic information, or any other status protected by applicable laws or regulations.
   
   GPAC (Growing People and Companies) is an award-winning search firm specializing in placing quality professionals within multiple industries across the United States since 1990. We are extremely competitive, client-focused and realize that our value is in our ability to deliver the right solutions at the right time.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right family lawyer for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with family lawyers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit family lawyers who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your family lawyer job on Zippia to find and recruit family lawyer candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit family lawyers, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new family lawyer

   Once you've found the family lawyer candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   To prepare for the new family lawyer first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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