Only inexperienced or unthinking family law attorneys take aggressive action against an opposing party without expecting blowback against their client. It’s animal nature to strike back when attacked and being served with a pleading or motion that challenges one’s behavior feels like a personal attack. Typically whatever good will the opposing party had towards one’s [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Attorney-Client Relations’
Turn the other cheek!
As a Jew I don’t believe in Christ’s divinity; however, I certainly believe in his wisdom. Perhaps the wisest of Christ’s counsel: Turn the Other Cheek. Matthew 5:39. It’s a lesson many family law litigants, most of whom proclaim themselves to be Christians, would be wise to keep in mind. In my years of family [...]
DIY domestic litigants
One pitfall of having a legal blog is I receive frequent calls from folks seeking free legal advice. A common question is whether they need an attorney to handle their family law problem. The analogy I use in answering that question is whether someone needs a mechanic to do car repair. A few folks are [...]
Fussing at clients so the family court judge won’t
Often my family court clients complain that I am not “taking [their] side” because I fuss at them regarding their behaviors. These clients are accurate in their assessment. This is especially true when my client is involved in a domestic case in which the contested issues involve a great deal of judicial discretion–typically child custody [...]
Attorneys acting too clever in assisting clients to repudiate an agreement
Recently, and for only the second time in my career, an opposing party attempted to repudiate a family court agreement that he or she had properly executed. In the first instance the opposing party claimed she was “coerced” into entering the agreement. In this new instance the opposing party claimed she was unaware of how [...]
Why I no longer accept service of rules to show cause
Yesterday two different attorneys asked me about accepting service on behalf of a client for rules to show cause. While I will routinely accept service of pleadings (with my client’s permission, of course) I’ve determined it’s unsafe for an attorney to accept service of a rule to show cause on behalf of a client and [...]
I’m the attorney; not the babysitter
I had an opposing attorney call me this morning asking if my client’s plans had changed since yesterday. When we confirmed her plans the previous day I reminded her to let me, and the opposing party, know if her plans changed. I hadn’t heard from her since, so I told opposing counsel that her plans [...]