Start out by explaining the issue involved to the lawyer and then give a short synopsis with the most important facts. The last thing the client should do is tell the entire story to the attorney up front, prior to explaining the issues involved.
Child Custody attorneys are trying to analyze the relevant facts while the story is being told. The lawyer is attempting to apply RI Family Law to the fact pattern. The Rhode Island divorce attorney is trying to understand your life experience and apply it to his Family Court experience and understanding of the law.
We need to understand THE ISSUES before we are told the entire narrative!
Knowing the pertinent and important issues, will help the attorney sort out the important facts of the story and disregard irrelevant information. The Providence child custody lawyer needs to focus on the relevant facts that relate to the issues at hand. A lot of clients forget that ‘they live this life‘ and the lawyer did not.
Some family court clients bombard their RI divorce lawyer with massive amounts of information, all at once. That is the reason the information should be presented clearly, efficiently and effectively. Often a long, rambling, chronological story can cause your attorney to become confused. The lawyer could become unaware of what facts are important to the story.
The textbook way for a client to address a Family court attorney in a client Consultation:
Below you will find effective examples explaining how clients should address RI divorce lawyers effectively:
- Step 1- The issue stated succinctly!
Did I break the law by cashing out $10,000 from my 401k prior to my husband filing for divorce to pay my potential legal fees as well as my car payment and our joint heating bill?
- Step 2: short factual synopsis:
I was desperate for money. I am a homemaker with no income and my husband earns 80 thousand dollars a year and cleared out his 401k retirement account. I needed the money to support myself and fund the divorce.
- Step 3: LONG STORY HERE:
Something like …My husband is an alcoholic who has been emotionally abusive to me for years. We have two children 5, 7 who love him, but he is not safe around them and last week he left them alone near the pool without proper supervision. I had to get a restraining order against him 10 years ago, but I dropped it after he promised to change. He has always earned $ 80,000 a year and I stayed home to be a homemaker. After he informed me that he filed for the divorce I was desperate for money and….
Can you see how it is a bad idea to start with the long story?
RI divorce attorney David Slepkow offers free initial consultations and has over 28 years’ experience in Providence Family Court as well as Washington, Kent and Newport County Rhode Island Family Court.