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Hello everyone, I’m Dr. Michael Mantell with another Family Law Matters with Bonnie Rabinovitch-Mantel, owner and managing partner of the Primus Family Law Group. Hi Bonnie. Hi Michael, how are you doing today? I’m doing well, thank you.
Bonnie, last week we talked about child support and at the end you touched on something that stimulated my thinking about this and it touches on a number of things that people continue to write in and ask us to cover, and that is the games people play when they contact a family law attorney such as yourself and your esteemed colleagues at the Primus Family Law Group. So I have a question for you. When someone comes to you and you know he, she, or they are lying, I didn’t do that.
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I never said that. I didn’t, I didn’t know I didn’t. And you know that they are lying.
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What is the obligation that a family law attorney is under and what can a client expect as a response? Well, first and foremost, if you’re going to lie to your attorney, we’re not, like Primus is not taking a case where people lie to their us, because you, just like your doctor, if you go to your doctor and you don’t tell him really what’s wrong, they can’t help you. So if we don’t know what the facts are and you’re going to manipulate the facts and lie, you’re outright lying, we can’t help you. So the issue we find is that people don’t necessarily tell us everything.
They want our help. They’re willing to tell us A, B, and C, but not D through Q. And so, you know, that hinders our ability to give proper legal advice and to give our best efforts to the case. It also sets the client up for being possibly sanctioned or, you know, really negative outcomes.
You could lose, you know, once judges, they’re human, right? So even though they’re supposed to be unbiased, if they believe you’re lying, that will set the tone for the rest of your case. And then your attorney is spending their time catching up or trying to rehabilitate you in the eyes of a judicial officer who’s already made an impression. So the best advice is be completely honest with your attorney, good, bad, or indifferent.
You screwed up. You made some bad decisions. You did some nasty things.
Let us know so that we can try to get out in front of it, or at least mitigate it to the best possible outcome. You know, we’re not perfect. People aren’t perfect.
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They make decisions at the time that they think are right or reasonable. And then they meet with a professional who says, no, no, no, that wasn’t a good idea. But at least if we know about it, we can address it or put you, the client, on a path to doing programs or taking classes, or if there are things that they can do to show the judge, you know, yes, I screwed up, but I’ve done something to mend those fences.
We will never suborn perjury. So we often get people that are like, well, we’ll hide our money. No, this family law is not TV family law.
It is a transparent process because there are kids involved. There’s property involved, family involved. We’re supposed to be honest and forthright.
And I know everybody out there is laughing, going, well, they’re not. Why should I be? Why do I? Here, you always have to be. At Primus, you have to be upfront because then we can walk into the court and we can go, hey, we’ve done everything we’re supposed to.
They’re not. If we’re also, you know, the often saying two wrongs don’t make a right, that actually plays. You can’t walk in and go, they’re wrong.
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If you’re also wrong, you have been described as a formidable and relentless. And I think what we’ve just heard is exactly why those words apply so well to you. If people want to be in touch with you to talk with you further about you representing them, how can they reach you? Well, you can reach all of us at Primus at 619-574-8000.
And our wonderful staff will set you up with a free 30 minute phone consultation with me. And then I will definitely assign you to the most knowledgeable and talented attorney that we have on staff. And if you want, you can reach out to us through our website at www.PrimusFamilyLaw.com. That’s terrific, Bonnie.
Thank you very much for your insight on the games people play when they come to a family law attorney. We’ll see you next time with another Family Law Matters. Have a great time, Michael.
Thank you. You too.