11 Reasons Why You Should Hire A Good Family Lawyer

11 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD HIRE A GOOD FAMILY LAWYER

Are you in the midst of a relationship breakdown?

Any Family Lawyer will tell you that the law is complex and there are many unwritten rules. Both are good reasons to hire a Family Lawyer but here’s 11 reasons why you need a good Family Lawyer:

  •  Keeping it Fair and Amicable: By keeping the Lawyers out of it to try and keep things “amicable” you risk selling yourself short to try and buy “amicable”. A good Lawyer will work hard to ensure the property division and/or childcare arrangements are fair without sacrificing “amicable”.
  • Calming Influence: There’s already enough emotional upset in a breakdown. Nobody needs an overly aggressive Lawyer charging in and making matters worse. A good Lawyer can act as a calming influence to de-escalate the conflict on both sides.
  • Advocacy Skills: Does the Lawyer you’ve hired to negotiate your case also possess the tenacity and ability to argue it for you in front of a Judge? If you want a great result, you need a Lawyer who’s willing and able to fight for it if it comes to that.
  • Strategy: Sometimes the best defence is attack, sometimes the best defence is surrender. Sometimes the attack can be sidestepped altogether. A good Lawyer can sift out the fights that need to be had from the ones that can be resolved another way.
  • Family Law is not just Family Law: Effective Family Lawyers are also proficient in Property Law, Contract Law, Criminal Law, Tax Law, and the Laws of Trusts and Equity. Outside legal knowledge, good Family Lawyers also carry a very good understanding of psychology, and accounting and banking and finance practices as well.
  • Hostage Negotiation: There are plenty of situations where the position occupied by the other side is completely irrational. Sometimes only an Order from a Judge will change their mind but often good bargaining skills from the Lawyer will prevent the matter having to be taken to a Judge.
  • Empathy and Bedside Manner: Can your Lawyer explain it to you in language you can understand and does your Lawyer even care that your life is falling apart, and you can’t tell up from down? A good Lawyer can and does.
  • Confidential Non-obligation Preliminary Advice: Good Lawyers who are experienced in Family Law typically are willing to see clients for an initial consultation where the client can present with all of the current problems and troubles and receive some advice on where they stand in regards to those issues legally. That advice typically will cover what the expected outcome would be if the case was put before the Court and also the various dispute resolution options that might be available to keep the matter out of Court. Those consultations are typically done at a fixed low fee, with no obligation to take the matter any further beyond that initial consultation, unless the client specifically wants to do so. These consultations can be very useful to head off trouble in the marriage breakdown before it occurs. The consultations can also be conducted on a strictly confidential basis for persons who have not yet decided to end the relationship and are simply exploring their options at that time.
  • Cost -v- Benefit Analysis: A good Lawyer will always be mindful that no action should be taken on a case without first appraising the benefit that will come to the client against the cost of pursuing the particular task. A good Lawyer will also ensure that this cost -v- benefit analysis is always a continuous exercise being conducted with the client as the case is progressing.
  • Draftsman Skills: In addition to being a good negotiator and if need be, litigator, a good Lawyer must also be a very good draftsman. Documents which are unclear or misconceived can send litigation and/or negotiation in the wrong direction. Agreements which are poorly drafted can result in the arrangement being unenforceable and/or significantly divergent from the deal that was agreed to. Good drafting will never assume that things will always go to plan. The drafting should also consider all the contingencies so that if things do go wrong the documentation has provisions to cover it.
  • Risk Avoidance: A good Lawyer with plenty of natural ability and experience in Family Law can navigate the complexities without causing your costs to skyrocket and whilst at the same time keeping you off the land mines.

Before hiring any Family Lawyer, you should be asking them whether they can do all of the items identified above.

Michael Zande is a Queensland Law Society Accredited Family Law Specialist with over 30 years’ experience in the field. He is the principal at Zande Law Solicitors, Suite 7, Norwinn Centre, 15 Discovery Drive, North Lakes. To contact Michael for advice, phone 3385 0999.

The information in this article is merely a guide and is not a full explanation of the law. This firm cannot take responsibility for any action readers take based on this information. When making decisions that could affect your legal rights, please contact us for professional advice.