Attorneys and Mediation

If you decide to see an attorney for legal advice, I recommend that you pay the attorney for his or her services as you need and use them. Do not pay the attorney a large “retainer” against his/her hourly rate since this is only necessary if you are going into a court battle.

When obtaining legal advice you should keep in mind that, while your attorney can predict what he or she believes a court or judge might do in a given situation, it is unlikely that he or she will be able to guarantee any specific result.

Since your attorney is your advocate, it is his or her job to obtain the best possible financial settlement for you. Therefore, it is not uncommon for your lawyer to tell you that you could obtain a more favorable financial settlement than contained in the agreement you have reached with your spouse. It is also likely that your spouse’s attorney is telling him or her the same thing.

Both lawyers may be correct; there may be parts of the settlement agreement that can be improved for both of you. But remember that your best interests are not necessarily served by getting as large a share of the marital assets as possible. And it is unlikely that your attorney can guarantee a greater financial settlement or that the financial cost will not exceed the potential benefit.

You may both decide that maintaining a civil relationship with each other, avoiding a court battle that may be stressful and detrimental to you and your children, and reaching a resolution that provides you with those things that most nearly reflect your own values, is more important than a potential larger financial settlement. And that is what mediation is all about.