A good lawyer thinks long-term. They realize the decisions they make in a case today may have implications for their clients for years to come. This is especially true in family law.
A bad lawyer is always focused on the here and now, to the detriment of nearly everything else. Very often this is really just an excuse to run up the bill as quickly as possible masquerading as “aggressive representation.”
A good lawyer is professional, not personal. A good lawyer seeks to steer the worst of their client’s desires away from the courtroom or settlement conference so that what the court sees is a passionate litigant who has deep concerns about their life and the life of their children, and not simply an angry, vindictive ex. A good lawyer will tell a client when they are in the wrong.
A bad lawyer is nearly always personal, and mistakes being aggressive and obnoxious to everyone in the building as advocacy. These lawyers are chasing their client’s perceptions of the legal profession rather than any mandate for professionalism. They will typically never evaluation their client’s motives or facts, nor work to formulate a case that helps anyone resolve the issues that got them into court in the first place.
A good lawyer seeks to eradicate needless conflict. A bad lawyer simply exacerbates it.
A good lawyer knows when advancing on a particular legal hill is not worth the casualties it would cost to take it, especially if it can be bypassed once the fog clears.
A bad lawyer immediately fixes bayonets and goes charging up anyway, billing for every step.
A good lawyer sees the law as a means to solve problems and defend causes. A bad lawyer sees the law as only a means to create wealth for themselves.
A good lawyer will be direct and up front with the client about managing their goals, from the initial consult. In the absence of genuine threat, they tend to favor a diplomatic approach that sees beyond the trauma of a relationship ending and a family in transition. A good lawyer will spend the time with a client to determine what the client (and not their friends or family) wants and needs well in advance of trial, very often so that a trial is avoided in the first place. They are armed with multiple levels of force to bring to a problem, and are well-versed in the limits of each, including the consequences to the client and their family. Their approach to a case is dynamic and multiphasic.
A bad lawyer will nearly always take a scorched-earth, carpet bombing approach to level everything in their path, leaving the survivors behind to fix the aftermath. They seldom stop to ask their client what they want, but instead are focused on how much firepower they can set off, because to them that’s advocacy. Their approach to every case is static, rigid, and inflexible.
A good lawyer is minimally-invasive. A bad lawyer stays up at night polishing their bone saw.
A good lawyer is zealous when it is needed, but sees going to trial as only one option among many (and very often the worst one at that). A good lawyer NEVER promises a particular result and forecasts results only after analysis and independent evaluation.
A bad lawyer starts out by promising results, realistic or otherwise, and typically sees no other solution other than the trauma and expense of going to trial, warranted or otherwise. Very often this is because this is what the client is demanding, regardless if it is appropriate.
A good lawyer brings value to a case through their continuing education & ethical, positive relationships with other lawyers and the Courts. A bad lawyer puts everyone on edge through years of theatrics and turbulence with all creatures they come in contact with. A bad lawyer can cost their client time and expense as the client suffers for their attorney’s reputation.
To a good lawyer, their client is the story. To a bad lawyer, their client is just a footnote in their autobiography.
You get what you pay for.
Choose accordingly.
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