Let’s say you’ve found a lawyer who boasts about being a “pitbull.” This lawyer will fight for you in court, promises to win, and promises to stick it to your spouse in the process.
In the moment, that might sound great–but before you sign on with a pitbull divorce lawyer, let’s talk about what that means.
Because you’re preparing for a court fight, you’re bypassing any negotiation that might be possible. You’re immediately in an adversarial position with your spouse, and if you have children together, you’re damaging the co-parenting relationship you’ll continue to have long after the divorce is over.
Because you’re going to court, you’re automatically on the court’s schedule. The judge won’t check with you to see if the date chosen works for you–it’ll just be chosen, and you’ll have to take however long it takes your pitbull lawyer to fight it out against your spouse’s lawyer.
Settling a divorce in court can also cost you quite a bit of money. The “fighting” that a pitbull lawyer does on the way to court and in court won’t come cheaply. You may win everything you want at the end. But you may also end up splitting assets with your spouse, being forced to sell the family home and divide whatever profits come from that, and get stuck with a custody schedule that inconveniences both parents and children. The judge will ultimately decide.
There are cases, however, where a pitbull might be exactly what you need. If you know you need to go to court, if you have a spouse who will be uncooperative and even combative, if fighting for sole custody is best for the safety of your children, you need a lawyer ready and able to fight.
But you want to make sure the fight is proportionate to what you need. Fighting just to fight can cost you money and time, and can make co-parenting more difficult down the road.
At the Law Office of Lisa Vance, we can determine whether a pitbull or a “collie” approach works best for your case. We have lawyers who can take on both roles, or something in between, to help you secure the decree you want.