Here are a few reasons why a family law attorney may ultimately decide to NOT take your case:
1. Not Putting the Best Interest of The Child First
No decent lawyer will participate in representation that is focused on a result that is obviously not in a child’s best interest. For example: a mother who is never home because she works 20 hours a day or who has a severe drug abuse problem while dad has been home with the kids for five years as a model parent, and mother wants sole custody because she is mad that dad does not love her anymore. Most good lawyers will try to persuade mom to consider the children’s best interests or to allow an expert to perform a custodial investigation, in this case, if mom persists in fighting for custody when it is very clear to everyone that she is unable to parent, believe it or not, most good lawyers will refuse to advocate for her.
2. Seeking the court to order something that they do not have the authority to do
Here is an example of a client request that simply cannot be ordered but the court: when determining custody/child support, court cannot order either parent to maintain life insurance that they may previously have held for the benefit of the other party or a child nor can it order either parent to contribute to the child’s college education. Demanding that these provisions (and others that the court cannot order without the consent of the parties) be placed in an agreement can result in an attorney not taking your case.
3. Hiring and Firing Too Many Lawyers
Lawyers have a saying: “sooner or later, it’s not the lawyer”. If you have had a bad experience or two, most lawyers will understand, especially if your previous lawyers have a reputation. But after the third or fourth lawyer, most attorneys may be hesitant to accept you as a client because they may jump to the conclusion that you are the problem. This may be unfair and untrue, but human nature is human nature and lawyers, despite popular belief, are human.
4. Conflict of Interest
If you called to make an appointment for a consultation with an attorney and they immediately said no, hopefully they explained to you that they has already met with the other party in your case. If a lawyer has met with one side, they cannot represent or consult with the other side. It is a conflict.
5. Seeking only Suffering
The divorce process alone causes enough suffering. Part of a family law attorney’s job is to help their client move beyond the anger and reach a resolution with the other side, despite how much the parties may hate each other at the beginning of the process. Resolution is difficult when there is so much anger and the more anger, the harder the case will be and the more likelihood that the client and lawyer will disagree for instance when a lawyer suggests a settlement and the client responds “not until my spouse has sufficiently suffered by going through a full-blown trial”.
Work With Evan
An advocate you can trust to give your family law case the personal attention it deserves.