The Importance of Collaborating with Your Divorce Attorney

As the saying goes, nobody comes to me with a family law issue because they are happy. A lawyer-client relationship is a collaboration between a legal team and the client. Suggestions are taken from the client but ultimately it is up to the lawyer to make the hard decisions that can change lives when dealing with opposing counsel or even the Judge. This is why it is so important that the lawyer and the client work well together.

As family law attorneys, we don’t take lightly the fact that our clients put their lives and their children’s lives in our hands. We know this can lead to a high level of sensitivity and anxiety in an already precarious situation, and understandably so. That’s why we consider it our job to manage our clients in terms of high-conflict situations, and emotional support. We help them navigate through highly sensitive issues such as child custody, restrictions on parenting time, an uncooperative ex-spouse, and many other situations that so often form the dynamic of family law cases.

What You Get When You Work with Denver Family Lawyers

Here at Denver Family Lawyers, collaboration with the client is key to our record of success. When collaborating with a lawyer at Denver Family Lawyers, it is our utmost responsibility to make sure that our client is comfortable and is taking the advice given to them by their counsel. One might ask why that is important. Well, for a number of reasons, primarily that attorneys and clients have the duty to be candid with the Court. That means producing discovery on time, being completely truthful in the pleadings, and, if there are children involved, doing your best to facilitate a co-parenting relationship.

The law says that each parent has a Constitutional right to parent their children. If parenting time is withheld, it could result in sanctions from the Court, including monetary fines. More often than not, withholding parenting time outside of an emergency situation lends itself to having to pay for the opposing party’s attorney fees. This is why it is important to not only listen to the advice of counsel, but to work in collaboration to strive for the very best outcome for you and your children.

Why It’s Important to Listen to Your Lawyer

Insights from a Member of the Denver Family Lawyers Team

In my 17+ years of experience as a family law attorney, I’ve gained a lot of insight and wisdom when it comes to preparing and moving forward with my clients’ cases. What can be frustrating, however, is when my clients don’t listen to my advice. I sometimes wonder why they are paying me by the hour if they’re not going to listen to that experience and wisdom.

I had difficulty with a client (let’s call her Dana from now on) this week. As we approached mediation, I reviewed Dana’s case and put together what my experience told me was a good, realistic offer to propose to her husband for settlement. It was the kind of proposal that we should stick to except for perhaps some minor tweaks at the margins. Anything the husband didn’t agree to, we could then make a strong argument to the judge at the final divorce hearing.

Unfortunately, Dana started to listen to others who have no legal experience and who don’t know her case and the particular facts and law related to it. One person Dana listened to was a friend who had recently wrapped up her divorce. This friend was able to get an award of spousal maintenance for 18 years. So, of course Dana thought that is what she should get, mistakenly thinking all cases are the same.

Also, Dana wanted her husband punished for what looked to be potential criminal activity. Dana wanted the house and all its value because “he’s not a good guy.” The problem is that Colorado law does not allow punishing a spouse because that spouse “is a bad guy.” So, we went into mediation with a proposal that her husband was never going to sign. We wasted $1,200 on a mediation that had no chance of success because Dana wasn’t realistic and didn’t listen to her attorney. The collaboration was one-sided, which ultimately led to a more costly divorce process.

At Denver Family Lawyers, collaboration is always our goal first and foremost. With a combined experience level of over 50 years, and we strive to bring the very best service to our clients. To collaborate with us on your case, call (303) 225-3343 or submit a contact form here.