An Attorney Can Be the Difference between a Good or Bad Result
Video Transcribed: My name is Attorney Jason Lile, and I am an Oklahoma Fathers Rights lawyer. I wanted to address you all an issue that comes up often in my practice representing men in family law cases.
And that is when a client comes into me and they’re new and they’re interviewing me to decide whether or not they want me to represent them, I get the question, are you going to fight for me? Are you going to be aggressive and fight for me?
And I wanted to address that question in the following way. In my experience, I’ve been an attorney for almost 20 years, been doing family law primarily now since 2012 for 10 years. I can tell you that one thing that gets in men’s way in litigation, in a courtroom, or in a negotiation, which is much of family law, is their attitude that they have to be aggressive to get what they want.
So the reality is, is that family law judges are trained and their disposition is to see whether or not the couple can work things out. That’s what they want. That’s what they will try and aim toward. That’s what the law says the default is, joint legal custody, making decisions together, co-parenting.
And when you come at an opposing party aggressively without a good plan, without a good reason, then what you’re doing is you’re undermining your own case. So if you mean, will you fight for me, do you mean I will be aggressive for you in court? Will I be loud? Will I be boisterous?
First of all, that’s not really my style, but second of all, it’s one of the things that makes me a good family law lawyer, especially for men. Because there is a time to fight and there is a time to negotiate, discuss, and offer solutions and in my experience, a good family law attorney, especially a man, will talk to their client about those things. What can make you look best in your case with regard to cooperating with the other parent? What evidence can you present that you will be the parent?
If the court has to choose that will encourage a relationship with that other parent because that’s the standard under Oklahoma law. Are you the parent, that’s going to encourage your children to have a relationship with their mother? Because if you’re not, you’re undermining your own case. And it’s very important that a lawyer help you understand that and help you understand how you can help your case.
And then, if you go into court and show, I have cooperated. I have been co-parenting with this person since we separated, I am well qualified to encourage a relationship with my child or children with their mother, and if she has not cooperated or she has undermined that process, then it’s time to fight.
I’m a trial lawyer, I love to fight, I love to argue, and then it’s time, and I am well qualified to do that. But it’s very important that a good lawyer helps you know the difference and helps you know that timing is very important. So for help with this or if you have any other questions about what it’s like to be in a custody case, please feel free to contact the Oklahoma father’s rights attorney or the Oklahoma Child Custody Attorney for Men at Dads.Law.
