STOP IT!

(NOTE:  This is a recent publication I submitted to a legal journal with the intention for Attorneys to read.)

 

Really.  You just said what about your client?  "He in an a**hole", "She is a bi***", "He is mentally ill", "She is a skank".

I encounter on a daily, weekly, monthly, yearly basis Attorneys who practice divorce / marital law, yet at the same time, dislike and hate their practice.  These Attorneys practice divorce solely because they need money and they have no other way to supplement their income to their practice.  It is a tragedy.  This is sad.  This is wrong.  The practice of law is an honor!  The practice of law is a jealous mistress where once it becomes your passion, your life will become the most exciting adventure one can imagine, whereas it literally becomes necessary to "pinch" yourself every morning to confirm that your life is not just a dream, but is actually a blessing of the miracle the Universe has bestowed upon you.

Let me remind you of your oath affirmed when you were "sworn" in to practice law in the State of Florida, and whether you realize it or not, you reaffirm it each year upon the payment of your dues to the Florida Bar:

I do solemnly swear;

I will maintain the respect due to courts of justice and judicial officers;

I pledge fairness, integrity, and civility, not only in court, but also in all written and oral communications;

I will abstain from all offensive personality and advance no fact prejudicial to the honor or reputation of a party or witness, unless required by the justice of the cause with which I am charged;

So help me God. ¹ 

You work for your client.  Your client does not work for you.  Your job in a divorce matter is to educate your client to the law, the procedures, and in your opinion, how to accomplish the goal that they desire within a dignified and honorable framework.  Your client pays you money that the majority of them have worked very hard to earn, and your client will work many more hours than you do for your hourly rate.  The Practice of Marital Law is a privilege in that you have the ability to apply Contract Law and other substantive areas in an academic setting, and yet, unlike any other practice of law, it involves one's "heart".  The emotion of love combined with the academic application of law is a most exciting mental exercise. You are compensated highly to apply your intellect and emotional quotient to your clients' issues, problems and future dreams.  They rely upon us to do our job in an honorable and dignified fashion. 

Your client is paying you a lot of money to work in an arena of the utmost excitement and creativity by applying emotion (the broken heart) to academic law (Florida Statute Ch. 61 and Case Law), and yet you have the audacity to complain and "cut down" your client. Why? To justify your ego and your existence!  No matter how great our belief of ourselves, we practice Divorce Law in the Daytona Beach area in the State of Florida.² No, this is not the pinnacle of the legal world.  I understand this, yet I am honored to do so.  So I suggest you get over yourself, appreciate your clients no matter what current stressors are negatively affecting their personality, nor how unreasonable their position is for that day as it is our challenge, our duty, our job and our honor to educate them and lead them through an honorable journey in a difficult field of divorce, whereas hopefully our leadership and compassion builds a "Camp David" for their divorce.

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1.  This is a partial publication of the Oath. 

2.  I have actually heard an Attorney say that he did not go to Law School to work past 5:00 p.m. on a weekday nor to work on weekends.  The reason I went to Law School is exactly the opposite of this, to have the honor and adventure to work past 5:00 p.m. on a weekday and to have the honor and adventure to call a client during the weekend, on a Sunday or a holiday, simply so they know that someone cares about them, will work hard to protect them and further their rights within this difficult world so they can live joyfully in a difficult world.