Risk if part of life. Risk and divorce often go hand in hand. Risk creates stress. Risk creates uncertainty. Regardless of where in Maryland your divorce will be: Howard County, Montgomery County, Baltimore, Anne Arundel, Carroll or elsewhere, risk is why you need a highly experienced divorce attorney on your side.
There are different aspects to risk and divorce. There is risk assessment and there is risk played out in the courtroom or any other aspect of the divorce process.
Let’s play this out a bit, so you understand what I am talking about.
You go to your initial consultation with divorce attorney number one. This is a young, inexpensive attorney, who appears bright. However, the attorney does not speak the same language as you, being from a different generation. The attorney does not have children, so he or she does not know their importance to who you are. The attorney speaks about your case somewhat mechanically, just like any other case.
You go to the next initial consultation with divorce attorney number two. This attorney appears experienced but only represents one gender, male or female. Does this seem strange to you? Of course it is. And if it seems strange to you, think about how strange it is being viewed by the judges. Anyway, this attorney appears to really want to focus on gender and fairness.
You then go on your final consultation with divorce attorney number three, a highly experienced divorce attorney. This attorney listens to you, asks you probing questions, asks what you want, delves into your life and provides you with a risk assessment and the probability of your getting what you want. The attorney is candid, blunt, intelligent and honest.
Seriously, whom are you going to hire?
Now, let’s play this out at trial.
Based on the three types of attorneys who interviewed, which one do you think will be more successful at trial if your case does not settle? Of course, the experienced, balanced divorce attorney is your best choice.
When you interview attorneys, you need to be thinking about risk. How much am I willing to risk? Who is the best pick as a divorce attorney? Who can cut my risk to a minimum?
Your divorce attorney should be able to identify each area of risk for you, explain the risks to you so that you can make an informed decision.
And that should be happening at your initial consultation, as well as throughout the representation.
People decide whether to accept or reject risk every single day. The same is true in divorce. The key for the experienced divorce attorney is to help you identify your risk, educate you, provide you with options and then allow you to decide whether to accept a certain level of risk or not.