I did mine myself. I didn't use a lawyer since the process was straightforward. You have to pay for the application / filing fee at the County Clerk's office; then putting the first notice (public) in the newspaper in your area that you are changing your name (this step is required before going to court - the filing papers from the court you will receive will tell you what newspaper to put the ad in.) Once you do that and send it to the court, you will get your court date. When you go to court, you will be in front of a judge where you will explain the reason why the name change. After the verdict is given, you will once again put another public notice in the newspaper saying that the new or revised name will be in effect according to the date of the court's judgement. Once that requirement is done, you will received the notarized paperwork with the court seal making it an official document. You will also have to file a copy to the Bureau of Taxation in Trenton within 30 days. I forgot how much the filing fee was, but the ads cost close to 60.00 apiece for a 1"x1" sized ad. Unless you have circumstances that you may need a lawyer, the process is easy. My process took about a month in total. I had to change to my full name, (because my SS card and my Passport is different from my DL and Birth Certificate) so all of my documents match up without issue due to my work.