Yes, divorce does seem to slow down for the holidays

For you curiousity seekers - divorce clients do thin out in the period before the holidays. There are still new clients coming in right now. But the volume is down.

But the month after New Years will be crazy.

A lawyer that lies????

I know the general public does not like attorneys. But in general, the bad reputation is undeserved. We are the only profession that can end up on charges if we lie to the public. At least, I take my professional ethics seriously.

Even so, I do run into an occasional lawyer that does something to make me ashamed of my profession. In a hearing yesterday, I listened as another lawyer lied through his eyeballs (a favorite saying of mine). There was little I could do. It was a matter of my word against the word of another. There were only three people listening and one of them was a judge. But I know it probably happens and I also know this has something to do with our reputation.

I apologize on the behalf of all lawyers that consider the truth a necessity. There are a lot of us that feel that way. The only problem is: the ones that don’t feel that way are the most noticeable.

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Divorce – Custody – Property – Alimony – Child Support - Misc

Forget Divorce Court -- As More Courts and Attorneys Embrace Mediation, Most Florida Divorces Never Make it to Court

Forget Divorce Court -- As More Courts and Attorneys Embrace Mediation, Most Florida Divorces Never Make it to Court

When divorce attorney Howard Iken, http://www.18884mydivorce.com/ speaks with new clients, the first thing they talk about is “going to court.” The reality is they will probably never see the inside of a courtroom. The reason -- the overwhelming majority settle at mediation.
(PRWEB) November 11, 2005 -- When divorce attorney Howard Iken, http://www.18884mydivorce.com/ speaks with new clients, the first thing they talk about is “going to court.” The reality is they will probably never see the inside of a courtroom. The reason -- the overwhelming majority settle at mediation.Conjure up an image of divorce. The average person visualizes people sitting in a courtroom, giving testimony, with a judge at a bench presiding over everything. The reality of most divorces is dramatically different. Forget high profile, exciting confrontations in courtrooms built 50 years ago. The vast majority of divorces in Florida are relatively boring exchanges of paperwork and telephone calls. The extensive paperwork and telephone calls all lead to one event -- mediation. With 95% of cases settling at mediation, going to court is largely becoming something obsolete.In Florida, and in many states in the U.S., mediation is becoming a mandatory step. And mediation appears to work. Howard Iken, managing partner at The Divorce Center (http://www.18884mydivorce.com/), a divorce law practice in the Tampa Bay region, observes over 95% of divorce cases settle by the time they get to mediation. Of the 10% that do not settle by mediation, approximately 9% settle some time before final trial. The bottom line is that approximately 1 out of 100 divorce cases go through the colorful confrontation that many people visualize. 99 out of 100 cases never make it to court.

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Divorce – Custody – Property – Alimony – Child Support - Misc

I thought they looked a bit TOO friendly to each other

I was working on an uncontested divorce. Initially, both parties came in to see me. They looked as stiff as totem poles and tried their best not to look at each other. One retained me to process an uncontested divorce (all issues agreed upon). The other went home with a settlement agreement to look over - with the understanding that a lawyer cannot represent both people and my strict instruction to get his own lawyer if anything was not understood.

The next meeting, 2 weeks later was much different. Both came in to see me and present a fully signed copy. They were relaxed and very gentle toward each other. Being the trained lawyer that I am - I suspected foul play!

Sure enough, there was something wrong. A week later, I called to let them know the date for the final hearing. It turned out they were trying to call me that day. The whole thing was called off. They wanted to stay married.

I realized, all the paper I threw at them achieved another purpose - to let them know how horrible divorce was. They rediscovered the reasons that made them originally get married - and how I was about to ruin everything. I went home that day feeling very positive.

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Divorce – Custody – Property – Alimony – Child Support - Misc

Keep it cool in court

Many people cannot control themselves in court. They desperately want to vent their feelings in front of the judge. They think "this isn't fair" or "this whole thing stinks!" These feeling come out in words, facial movements, or body language.

If there is a time to be humble, it is in front of a judge. Swallow your anger and pride. Judges are only human. When faced with negative emotions, they make negative decisions.

The best posture to take in court is even keeled, honest, and rational. When you are going to court swallow your pride.