8/1/10 8/1/10

Your Favorite Posts of July 2010

In case you missed them when they were posted earlier, here are the top ten most-viewed posts for July 2010.

7/30/10 7/30/10

"Just Right": A parable of neckties and communicating with your lawyer

tiesjustright This morning I was putting on a tie. It’s a court day that means suit and tie. I was feeling good so I went for the dark gray suit, white shirt (with my initials on the cuff) and the red tie. My power suit. I threw the tie around my neck, passed it over itself a couple of times and pulled it tight. It was a little long and hung down way too low. So I untied it, made a few adjustments and went back to work tying it again. This time – too short. I was frustrated. Having a tie that is tied too long is okay, especially if you are going to wear a coat to cover it up, but a tie that is too short just looks tacky and odd. It’s just an inch or two either way but looks bad nonetheless. But as we work on tying the tie several times we find out where we need to position the tie so that we can get it tied “just right.” The more information we learn the better off we are (we look).So what does this have to do with your family law case or litigation in general? The more information you share with your attorney about yourself and the issues involved in your case the better off you are going to be. Sometimes clients don’t share some of the bad information with their attorney because they are afraid it will hurt their case. They “forget” about their criminal background, that they were abusive to the children, that they had addictive tendencies, that they didn’t do what they were previously ordered to do and so on. They hope everyone else forgets about these things too. The truth is the opposing side in your litigation does not forget about those things. They want to use it against you in the litigation. When you fail to share that information with your lawyer, he has no way to prepare a defense. Now, your worries have come to reality. You were scared that this information would hurt your case and it has, two-fold. Not only has the other side used the information against you, but because you withheld it from your lawyer you have prevented him from being able to mitigate the damage that it causes.Back to the necktie: the more information your lawyer has about your case the better job he can do in presenting it to the court on your behalf.

7/14/10 7/14/10

Who's In the Court Room?

One of the concerns I hear from clients as we are preparing for both contested and uncontested divorce hearing is who is going to be in the court room with us? Family Courts, except for cases like child abuse and neglect matters, are open to the public and that means any one could be sitting in on your hearing.The reality is that in nearly every case you will only find a handful of people in the courtroom with you:

Family Court Judge
Court Report - the person who is recording everything that is being said in the courtroom to keep an exact record of what is happening in there.
Deputy/Bailiff
Lawyers
Parties
Witnesses

That's pretty much it. Occasionally, a law student, newly minted lawyer, or paralegal student will be observing cases as part of a class assignment or bar requirement to practice.

7/13/10 7/13/10

Think Before You File

Sometimes it is good to take a deep breath before you go barging ahead in your case. I recently defended a Rule to Show Cause (contempt) hearing for a client filed by his wife. It appeared that she filed it as a retaliation for a letter that I mailed to her on behalf of my client. There were some pretty nasty allegations of contempt in the papers and my client was worried although he believed he had done nothing wrong. Just so you know, a rule to show cause hearing is what a person files to enforce a previous court order. If someone has not done what they were ordered to do by the court and they are found to have willfully disobeyed that order they can be punished by jail time up to one year, fines up to $1,500.00 and up to 300 hours of community service (or any combination of the three). This is serious!As we walked into the courtroom, my client's ex-wife appeared cocky and arrogant. She sought the contempt and attorney fees. However, she did not have a strong case. She let emotion and anger rule her rather than common sense. She did not tell the whole story to her attorney who was not ready for our defense. The rule to show cause was dismissed, and to add insult to injury for the ex-wife, she was ordered to pay for my client's attorney fees for defending the matter.So, next time you feel like you've been done wrong and you're ready to bring the shock and awe, take a step back, honestly consult with your lawyer and make a plan, but don't forget to look at the big picture and don't forget that anything can happen in the courtroom and quickly things can get turned around on you.

7/6/10 7/6/10

Solo Lawyer Working Out of the Office

Recently, I opened my own law practice here in Greenville, South Carolina. Right now, I am the only person working in the firm so I act as attorney, paralegal, boss, assistant, accounts payable, and everything in between. I have been extremely busy, and I have had some thoughts that perhaps some prospective clients may have some concerns about the type of attention that is paid to their case.I thought a real-life story would help in explaining how things are going so far. Several months ago, long before I opened this law practice, my wife and I planned a trip to Chicago to meet some friends and celebrate a friend's 30th birthday. We took in a couple of Cubs' games at Wrigley Field. We left on Thursday morning and planned to return to Greenville on Sunday. This meant that I would be out of my office for two days. In a family law practice, a lot can happen over two days and I was a little nervous.When I set up my practice, technology and the ability to practice from anywhere were high priorities for me. So I have set up systems, software, and utilize technology to allow me to do this. Some technology is as simple has having my iPhone, others things I use is Google Voice for telephone and voicemail, Google Apps for calendaring and e-mail, and Dropbox for storing documents and syncing between my computers.During the weekend, I was able to use Google Voice to route all of my incoming office calls to my iPhone. If I was in a place that would provide necessary confidentiality (like my hotel room) I would take the call. If I was unable to take the call, the voicemail would then be transcribed and e-mailed to me so I could immediately have access to the message. If it was very urgent, I could make arrangements to respond quickly. While sitting at the Friday afternoon Cubs' game, I received a voicemail from a client related to a custody/visitation matter. About the same time as her call, I received an e-mail with a fax message from the opposing counsel on that case. I was able to find a quiet corner of the stadium to call my client back to get an idea of what was going on. Then, I was able to send a fax back to opposing counsel - all from my iPhone in the upper deck at Wrigley Field.So, I hope this story will show you that my law practice is more personal and the way that I have carefully set it up will allow me to serve all of my clients effectively and promptly even though I may not perform all of my work behind the desk of my downtown office.

5/5/10 5/5/10

Top UpstateFamilyLawBlog.com Posts for April 2010

Here are the top posts from April 2010.

5/5/10 5/5/10

Firm Announcement: Atkins Law Firm, P.A.

Tripp Atkins is excited to announce the opening of the Atkins Law Firm, P.A. Effective May 1, 2010, the Atkins Law Firm, P.A. will be providing divorce, family law, and probate administration and litigation services in upstate South Carolina. We are doing everything possible to minimize the transition between the former firm and Tripp's new firm. You can contact the Atkins Law Firm, P.A. the following ways:

Physical Address: 11 N. Irvine Street, Suite 14, Greenville, South Carolina 29601
Mail: PO Box 27167, Greenville, SC 29616
E-mail: Tripp@AtkinsSC.com
Telephone: 864-735-8699
Fax: 864-349-5054
Get Directions to our new office here

4/10/10 4/10/10

Infidelity Stats: 20% of Men and 10% of Women

Came across this infidelity infographic on the Fast Company website this afternoon in an article about Tiger Woods. Interesting...One interesting stat on this infographic is that 90% of people who have had online affairs get addicted to them and begin another immediately after the current one ends. With the advent of Facebook and other networking sites, it is easier and easier to "hook up" online these days. While an online affair may not be enough to lead to a divorce on adultery grounds in South Carolina, the nature of this activity is such that it is a slippery slope that leads to adultery.Via: OnlineSchools.org