Family law is not only about solving a case, but also handling the emotions and helping out the families through a difficult situation. A Family law firm concerns legal issues faced by the families. It includes cases of spousal support, custody, divorce, child support, termination of parental rights, division of liabilities and assets at the time of divorce, paternity, adoption, protection against abuse and dependency and child neglect. A family law firm can consist of more than one lawyer. A family lawyer is not only a legal advisor to his clients, but also stands as a support to the family in its most stressful times. It also gives you a feel good factor about helping people in their difficult phase of life.
At times such cases can get very difficult to discuss with your clients. It is a great challenge for the lawyer when both the parties get on to hurting each other by a self defeating attempt. In family cases new issues develop on every small act almost daily. These issues consist of settling the dispute about a child’s custody on a holiday, or money taken out from a joint account, etc. Most of the time a family lawyer is busy sorting these issues over the phone, negotiating every little actions, preparation of pleadings to be presented in the court, drafting the correspondence made, going to the court frequently for motions and hearings.
Sadly, as the family disputes and divorces are on a rise, there is an increased demand for family lawyers today. To become a family lawyer you need to opt for the course in family law during your law school and then intern in an organisation or a family legal services firm. It is also not easy for an attorney to stay for long in this field as it demands a lot of patience and requires more time to be spent in the court and resolving clients’ personal matters. Therefore, this particular practise faces a lot of turnover.
To be an efficient family lawyer, a person needs to be a good negotiator and have the skills of a litigator. As new developments interrupt the case every now and then, as a family lawyer you should also possess great time management skills. At the same time you should be able to act as a counselor and help your clients wade through tough situations. You need to acquire appropriate knowledge of the financial and accounting matters to be able to advise your client, and also present the same in the court. Basically, you need to have witty communication skills to get your point across to people, whether it is your client, court personnel or opposing counsel.
It might be daunting at times to take your private and personal matters to the court. For all this there is a process called The Collaborative Law. This helps in resolving the divorce cases without having to go to the court. In this process both the parties agree to resolve the matter though discussions and negotiations in a group, and agree to a settlement outside the court. This has produced successful results with less stress to both the attorney and the clients.
A family law firm has a solution to all kinds of family disputes. No matter what the situation is, a family lawyer stands by his clients from the start to the finish.
Lara Jones is a freelance blogger and currently writes for Websters Lawyers. Visit http://websterslawyers.com.au/our-services/family-law/ when you need solicitors in Adelaide.