I expect that any experienced attorney, and especially any experienced divorce attorney, has experienced the difference between resolving the legal issues in a case and resolving the conflict in a case.
There is a big difference.
There are many family law cases in which a judge enters an order resolving the legal issues in a case, only to see that same family over and over again year after year. Each time that family appears the judge resolves the legal issue at issue and sends them away, only to have them re-appear again with some new (or not so new) legal issue. (These are the most lucrative clients for a family law attorney, by the way).
The reason for this revolving door on the courthouse is that while the legal issues in the case get resolved, the conflict does not. And in family law, it is the conflict that births the legal issues, not the other way around. However, the way the legal issues are handled often fuels the conflict, which in turn fuels more legal issues. It becomes a feedback loop.
This is perhaps the biggest limitation of the legal system when it comes to family conflict and divorce. A judge can issue orders to fill several court files, but the judge is almost powerless to resolve the underlying conflicts that fuel the legal issues. Judges can and do order family therapy in some cases to try to address the deeper dynamics at the root of the problem. But, that is not the norm, and it frequently comes so late in the game that real change is difficult.
To get to the root of the problem the conflict between parents or spouses needs to be addressed. Legal issues and problems are symptoms of the conflict. A judge can treat the symptoms, but it takes skilled lawyers and other professionals to work on a cure.
The legal profession as a whole, in my experience, has been narrowly focused on treating symptoms for family law clients instead of working on the root causes. In some ways that makes sense; lawyers are trained from law school through their early years of legal work to learn how to deal with legal problems. They are not trained to deal with anything deeper than the legal issue involved. And many lawyers have no desire to look behind the legal issues to the root of the conflict. It may come as a surprise that many lawyers, including family lawyers, are not comfortable with the emotions that are behind the curtain and don’t possess the skills to effectively handle them.
To be fair, some clients who hire a family law attorney have no interest in looking at the conflict either, and only want an attorney that will get the best legal outcome possible, regardless of collateral damage, or the feedback loop. Those attorneys don’t have the opportunity to address the conflict if their clients are not interested or able.
But, in my experience, most clients are open to addressing the actual conflict if they are shown in the early stages how that conflict is fueling the legal issues and that addressing the conflict will likely reduce or eliminate future legal problems. It is not easy or fun. It certainly takes maturity and self-discipline. But it is possible and it is possible in many more cases than it is offered.
If you are facing a divorce or family law issues, give some thought to whether you prefer to address a string of legal issues for years, or address the conflict upfront to avoid a string of legal issues for years. And find an attorney that is willing and able to help you do that.
