Legal Advice

Clients meet with you and present one side of a situation. This is account is solely from how the Client views their situation. The lawyer provides legal advice based upon that information.

As the case progresses, more information is learned. The lawyer obtains information from the opposing party as to how they perceive the situation and the lawyer learns information from outside sources, like a police report, or a third party, like a teacher or physician.

At this point the Lawyer’s legal may likely change. Sometimes Clients take matters into their own hands and respond impulsively to the opposing party and that can certainly negatively affect a case.

Moreover, the best legal advice is the legal advice you as the client do not want to hear. Any lawyer can tell you what you want to hear and bolster your view of the situation. However, you should be wary of that lawyer, because they are not necessarily looking at the whole picture from everyone’s point of view and that can lead a client to have a false sense that the judge is going to rule in their way.

As a lawyer practicing in the are of family law for over 20 years, it has been my practice to give Clients the legal advice that they need to hear. This is not always welcomed legal advice and it may end in my losing the client. The sad part is that the client usually would move on to another attorney who will give them the advice that they would like to hear and the when the judge rules against them, the lawyer simply blames it on the judge.

Furthermore, the client should remember that the judge making the decision about your family is the last resort. So, when your lawyer is advocating you to accept an offer of settlement, it is not because the lawyer is intimidated by the opposing party or afraid to take the case to trial. The real reason is because the lawyer has looked at the situation from all the differing points of view and understands that having a resolution that was crafted with your input is much better than allowing a judge to make a decision who does not have the benefit of having worked closely with you over the last several months or more.

Lastly, take caution of the lawyer who is only advising you in a manner that is consistent with your point of you of your situation and seek the lawyer that challenges you by advising regardless of your point of view of your situation as that is the lawyer that is most accurately assessing your situation and ultimately working best for you.