Lawyers can provide valuable information about what might happen if you went to court. But it is important that you learn not only about the strengths of your case, but about your risks as well.
A lawyer can also provide insights into:
- how long your case may take, and,
- how much money going to court will cost.
Knowing this can help you determine whether you can achieve a better outcome in mediation than you can in court.
Attoneys can be consulted outside of mediation, or, if the the parties argree, attend the sessions.
In mediation, whether to consult with an expert is up to the parties.
Further, parties can hire the expert together, and instruct that person to give the most accurate and unbiased information possible.
In court, the judge is at the top of the pyramid.
The focus is on the past. Parties, through their attorneys, try to prove blame, and in cases involving minor children, that one is the better parent (and so the other parent is worse or 'unfit').
Motions and adjournments are common.
Rather than working together, parties are often stuck in a process that defines itself as 'adversarial.'
There may be a 'discovery' process such as depositions.
The lawyers may prepare for a trial, though well over 90% of cases ultimately settle.
Going to court is often very expensive and time consuming. In family cases, relationships are often harmed.
Where conflict is high, the judge may appoint a forensic psychologist and a lawyer for the child.
The lawyer for the child reprsents the child/ren, just as your lawyer represents you.
If children have different interests, more than one lawyer for the child may be appointed.
The use of experts in litigation may have questionable value.
Experts generally support the party hiring them, rather than providing the best and least biased information possible.
Using experts in court can, as the saying goes, 'provide more heat than light.'
