Divorce Lawyer Skills

A divorce lawyer needs to be able to combine two different types of skill sets in order to most effectively perform their job.  The first is a very good sense of the technical workings of most of the laws and an ability to be able to research quick specific instances of the law.  The second ability is to have an innate or learned sense of many of the emotions surrounding family law.  These two working together and for the benefit of your clients is what makes a very good and fair family law attorney.

Often there are clients splitting up who are almost exclusively focused on the division of money in the breakup of a marriage.  These individuals typically have a lot of questions about what exactly their rights are and will usually propose a lot of different scenarios in order to maximize their interests.  Moreover, while their primary concern is the money, they are still often very emotional over the end of their marriage.  This means that they want any deal that they make with the opposing side to be done as quickly as possible so that they can begin to move on with their life.  For this type of client, it is crucial to have a deep understanding of the law in order to accurately and quickly work through and fully explore any hypothetical situations that their case may present.

It is often thought that the best way to learn something is by doing it.  While this is also true for a divorce lawyer, it is probably best to begin with an outstanding base of knowledge which can they be applied to real world experience.  The reasons for this are twofold: first you are dealing with matters that could greatly affect people’s lives for a long time, and it is crucial to ensure that your representation is at a high level.  The second is that there are so many different scenarios to learn that it is hard to imagine them being learned in a short period of time just through encountering them.  Because family law has been so thoroughly litigated in many areas, it is often the case that the law is clear and will provide the beginner with the best point of introduction.

Once a divorce lawyer has gone over the law and has a clear grasp of family law, the next step is to apply it, and for this having a good feel for the emotions in people’s lives going through a breakup is important.  Part of this is being able to read people and sensing when they are not telling the truth and when more questions need to be asked.  Another part is having the ability to step back from what a client is saying to see how a judge would probably feel about the case.  One further reason this is important is to be able to sense how the parties other than your client are feeling so that you can know when a settlement is possible and in your clients best interests.

Combing these two abilities should lead a divorce lawyer to strong career of representing clients.

The above material is intended for information purposes only.  It is not intended as professional legal advice and should not be construed as such.  Will Beaumont practices law in New Orleans, LA, and Metairie, LA.