Family Law

Family Law is likely the most costly litigation that you will ever face. There is one reason for that; that is the way it was designed to be. Whether you will soon be going through divorce, a paternity action or are seeking a modification of any order you will need to consult with someone. These are very emotional issues and the system takes advantage of that.

You are ready to fight for what you believe in and to protect your children and give them what is best. The other parent is also ready to fight for what he or she believes in and to protect your children and give them what is best. Rarely are those beliefs the same and with lawyers by each of your sites the stage is set for a long drawn out battle that will cost you not only time and money but possibly the emotional well-being of your children.

Divorce Attorneys are pleased to have you in this situation. Some even go through the unethical practice of encouraging their client to file a No Contact or Protective Order barring the two of you from having direct communications. No each of you must have any contact through the attorney’s. Two clock’s running makes more money for them.

This is going to be an emotional time. You are likely not going to want to have to deal with and will wish that it just go away. You may become focused solely on your own needs at the time and not see the bigger picture because you are so close to it. This is especially true if you represent yourself.

Criminal Defense

Nearly all criminal cases are solved through plea agreements. Many times people plead guilty to something they didn‘t do or to an offense that is not actually a crime. There are numerous reasons, but often, it is a lazy or unethical lawyers and prosecutors. When faced with the prospect of working to prepare a defense in a jury trial, or simply making phone calls and going through the procedural steps of pleading you guilty, the lawyers usually take the easy way out. They are also mindful that if you are acquitted then you are done with them. Probationers face revocation in about half of all cases and nearly always seek to have a lawyer by their sides.

The lawyer who will stand beside you in court is often a regular in the courtroom and is not going to go against the status quo. Why should he? He is often a buddy of the judge or prosecutor. It is almost like you and some friends sitting down to play a game of cards. In this situation there is one big difference between you and the attorneys; they have nothing to lose, you do! Is that the type of person you want advocating for you?

Often times attorneys take on too many clients and are unable to give each the individual and specialized attention that they deserve. This is especially true of public defenders. In criminal cases there is a mountain of paperwork that can be filed and pretrial hearings that can be requested. This is one tool that can be used to get a dismissal. Your litigation coach will ensure that you are prepared to represent yourslf or that your attorney is prepared to and is agressively advocating for you.

Typically, we want to be involved with you before the court is involved with making decisions for your family. It is our goal to keep you out of litigation. We will work with you and your spouse/partner if he or she so desires and try to bring about as much agreement as possible before getting into the courtroom. Our goal is to maintain open lines of communication as this is the most efficient and effective manner to resolving conflict.

We are aware that often times the parties are so embroiled in battle that communication outside of legal pleadings is not possible. In those situations we will make you aware of techniques that can be used to open lines of communication and also to keep this from harming the children.

Your Litigation Coach can also provide the legal, moral and emotional support that you need while going through this process because like you will be doing, we have each gone through some form of this battle and are winning. Our goal will be the same as yours, the unification of your children with their caring, supportive and loving parents.

You will have a choice to make in that you will either hire an attorney to represent you or you will represent yourself. If you choose to hire an attorney we will be there to do the interviews. We will ask the questions that you need to ask of these attorneys. We will make sure the attorney you get is competent enough to represent you and, most importantly, we will make sure that the attorney understands that this will not be business as usual. If you chose not to hire an attorney we can also help with that.

Your self-representation is called pro se. Maneuvering through the maze of rules and procedures can be a daunting task for the pro se litigant but it can be effectively done with the proper coaching and support. Your Litigation Coach will assess your needs and provide you with the appropriate instruction and resources that you need to be able to effectively represent yourself.

Did you know that most non-custodial parents [NCP's] who are entitled to a support modification to bring it in-line with what they can afford do not get one because they can‘t afford to. However, they cannot afford not to. If you are out of work or don’t have another family to care for then you have the time available. The only thing you now lack is the knowledge and experience which you will gain from someone who has been through the process guiding you as you go through it.

If you do not have the best interest of your children in mind we will not assist you. For that reason we do require that you complete an application and pay a small evaluation fee.

Typically, we want to be involved with you before an attorney is representing you and already working on backroom deals to ensure your conviction. Our goal will be to keep you out of jail and the courtroom altogether if possible. It may be through negotiation with the prosecutor or just telling him that he will be taking the case to a jury trial and will get flooded with paperwork.

Your Litigation Coach can provide the legal, moral and emotional support that you need while going through this process. Facing a criminal charge is serious and often scary, especially without knowledge of the process. Our goal will be the same as yours, to see that criminals be appropriately punished and the innocent go free.

You will have a choice to make in that you will either hire an attorney to represent you or you will represent yourself. If you choose to hire an attorney we will be there to do the interviews. We will ask the questions that you need to ask of these attorneys. We will make sure the attorney you get is competent enough to represent you and, most importantly, we will make sure that the attorney understands that this will not be business as usual. If you chose not to hire an attorney we can also help with that.

Your self-representation is called pro se. Maneuvering through the maze of rules and procedures can be a daunting task for the pro se litigant but it can be effectively done with the proper coaching and support. Your Litigation Coach will assess your needs and provide you with the appropriate instruction and resources that you need to be able to effectively represent yourself.

Imagine going into a courtroom and facing a county prosecutor and a judge who think they are looking at a fool who they will easily dissuade from exerting any right or challenging their corrupt system. Or, you confidently walk in with an attorney by your side who is not going to roll over and play dead, who is not going to make the backroom deals but who, instead, will stand up for you and do what is right. That is exactly what you will be doing with the assistance of your Litigation Coach. Imagine doing this every time you have a legal problem. Image doing this and winning.

Using a Litigation Coach, especially if you are pro se, will require more input and effort on your part but it will be well worth it. If you are truly motivated by defending against a false charge then you will find this to be an easy task. You have the upper hand in that your motivation is not the same as theirs; money and control. Although their desire for financial compensation, control or fame is immense, it will not outweigh your desire to clear your name and for your freedom.

If you are committing crimes without remorse we will not assist you. For that reason we do require that you complete an application and pay a small evaluation fee.

Please contact us at members@boonecountyfathers.org for more information on Stuart Showalter, LLC Litigation Coaching Services.

Stuart Showalter, LLC Litigation Coaches are NOT attorneys and CANNOT represent you in court.

Unbundled Legal Services

by

Forrest Mosten and Lee Borden

As presented at the Academy of Family Mediators 2000.

What is Unbundling?

The term "unbundling" is just now making it into the lexicon, descriptive of any process in which something complex is broken down into smaller and simpler components. In the legal context, "unbundling" refers to the process of breaking down the multiple roles an attorney might play into smaller simpler groups of tasks.

Unbundling (also called discrete tasks representation) offers clients a middle ground between dispensing with lawyers altogether or signing on for the full service package. The client is in charge of determining which services are to be performed by the client, which services are to be performed by the lawyer, and the extent or depth to which the lawyer will perform the services.

The client could contract separately to perform other tasks or perform them without using a lawyer. One of the cardinal principles of unbundling is "Use your lawyer only for what only your lawyer can do."
 

1. How Clients Benefit from Professional Discrete Task Services

   
   Let's be honest. Perhaps the biggest selling point for unbundling is that it costs less. When the parties do most of the work themselves and hire an attorney only for what they need, they save money. But that's not the only benefit from unbundling. It also allows them to stay in control. They decide what issues to negotiate. They decide when to discuss what.

   Because unbundling almost inevitably results in more contact between spouses in a divorce, it also sets a pattern for both of them built around sitting down and working out the issues between them, rather than relying on someone else to do it for them. They’ll need to do it soon enough, so they might as well get started now.

2. Acceptance of Unbundling

   
   Some bar associations and some courts have tried to restrict the offering of unbundled legal services. This effort continues, but it’s losing steam. In general, more courts and bar associations are beginning to recognize that unbundling is here to stay.
    

3. Risks of Unbundling and Protections to Minimize Risk

   
   The primary criticisms of unbundling fall into three broad classifications – concern that courts and judges might be misled, concern that clients might be misled, and concern that clients might make mistakes.
    

   1. Courts and judges might be misled

      
      Judges often state that they give the benefit of the doubt to pleadings and other submissions from parties who are pro se (proceeding without the help of a lawyer), knowing as they do that these documents have been prepared by a lay person. According to this argument, to allow a pro se litigant to file a document prepared by an attorney without disclosing the attorney’s role to the court might give that litigant an unfair advantage.

      There are two responses to this concern. First, one may question whether it really happens very often. In many courts, pro se litigants actually get less help, less encouragement, and less patience than attorneys. A court official might be willing to guide an attorney patiently through the process of correcting pleadings so they will be accepted but will simply dismiss a pro se party with a curt "It’s not right; you need to hire a lawyer."

      Second, to the extent that the court might be misled, it is neither burdensome nor unjust to require that pleadings prepared by counsel say as much on their face. It would be a simple matter for a court to require that any pleading prepared by a lawyer and submitted pro se bear a legend "Prepared by counsel."
       

   2. Clients might be misled

      
      The second oft-expressed concern about unbundling is that clients will think they are getting full-service legal representation when they are actually contracting for something less. A litigant who has visited with a lawyer acting as a coach will believe that the coach is doing everything a lawyer needs to do may not monitor deadlines, or may not show up for a hearing.

      This concern is often expressed by bar associations and courts but seldom if ever by the parties who have used the services. The authors between them have provided unbundled services to thousands of litigants without one incident where a client thought the role was anything greater than the service contracted for.

      The solution to this concern, clearly, is clarity. Clarity in the engagement letter for the provision of services, and clarity in the communication between the attorney and the client. The attorney needs to check from time to time to ensure that the client’s strategy is sound, and this should always include the client’s monitoring of deadlines. It also should include the client’s understanding of when it would be appropriate to ask for more help.
       

   3. Clients might make mistakes

      
      This is real. Persons who choose unbundled legal services take on more freedom and responsibility than persons who have traditional legal representation. The hard truth is that along with that freedom and responsibility comes the power to muck up their case. Two responses are appropriate. First, a good coach who sets out clearly with the client when it’s appropriate to ask for more help can minimize the mistakes the client is likely to make.

      Second, the objection assumes that the choice is between unbundled legal services and full representation. This is generally not the case. People who use unbundled legal services often do so because it’s the only way they can get access to the legal system. If they didn’t use unbundled services, they would have no legal services at all. Yes, from time to time, a client will make a mistake in negotiating with his or her spouse or their lawyer. Gaining access to unbundled legal services doesn’t increase that risk, however. To the contrary, it reduces it.
       

Successful Models of Unbundling


The models of unbundling can take countless forms, but the ones used most often appear below.
 

1. Coaching

   
   When a lawyer acts as a "coach," he or she is available to give straight answers to the client for the questions the client has. The fundamental idea of coaching is that most people don't need somebody to do their negotiating for them.

   1. What they need is good sound information that they can use to negotiate on their own.
   2. What they need is a full exploration of the available alternatives when they're stuck on a particular point.
   3. What they need is a fair appraisal of the strength of their case and the range of likely outcomes if a judge were to rule on it.
   4. What they need is a good solid understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of a proposal somebody is suggesting.
   5. What they need are some suggestions for how they might negotiate with their spouse or their spouse's lawyer to get what they want.

   
   A good coach can do that, offering a leg up without charging an arm and a leg. With most coaches, the parties pay for the time you actually use -- no more, no less. They pay on the spot, meaning they don't sign a retainer agreement. When they finish with the coach, they don't owe the coach any money, and the coach doesn't owe them anything.

   The next time they come back to see the coach, they’ll pay again. Simple. Clean. They pay for what they need. And they stay in control. If they need their coach to go to court on their behalf later, they can always work that out with a separate agreement.

   A coach can act as a negotiation tutor, helping a party realize how negotiations work and how to prepare for negotiations. A negotiation tutor can even guide the person through a series of role-plays, so they have an idea in advance of what to expect and how they might respond.
    

2. Ghostwriting

   
   Often a party whose spouse has filed for a divorce simply needs to file an Answer, the legal document that avoids default. Then the party will be able to negotiate with his or spouse or the spouse’s lawyer to resolve the issues of the case. Occasionally, the party may need more complex documents filed, such as Interrogatories, Requests for the Production of Documents, Requests for Admissions, and Motions. In each case, the party may desire to maintain control of their case but need the assistance of a lawyer to file the document properly.

   An attorney who offers unbundled legal services can assist with drafting these documents and the party can file them. This way, the document will meet the court’s standards, the party will protect his or her rights, and the party will continue to be free to negotiate without having to speak or work through a lawyer.
    

3. Information On Demand

   
   Often what a party needs when he or she is going through divorce is straightforward information. Attorneys who provide unbundled legal services often make available to their clients complex compendia of information, either by audiotext (telephone) or on the Internet, so the client can access that information 24/7. Remember the cardinal principle, "Use your lawyer only for what only your lawyer can do." If a person going through divorce can spend three hours on a web site before visiting with a lawyer, that person may have 80% of their questions answered. This will reduce dramatically the time they spend with the lawyer and reduce dramatically the money they pay to the lawyer.
    

Description of a Typical Model

If you have a current license to practice law and openness to unbundling, you are ready to begin. Essentially the difference between a traditional full-service attorney and an unbundling attorney is your willingness to explore the unbundling option with your client. An unbundling attorney recognizes that many clients would be more satisfied with an unbundling relationship than with a traditional full service one. You’ll be more successful offering discrete task services if you can present the unbundling concept in a cogent manner to your clients.

If you are clear and concise in the availability of unbundled services, your client will have a clear understanding of the potential roles they can serve and the roles you may serve. Using a carefully drafted engagement agreement, the client can select among 17 classes of service the lawyer can perform. These services include:

1. Legal advice: office visits, telephone calls, fax, mail, E-mail
2. Advice about availability of alternative means to resolving the dispute, including mediation and arbitration.
3. Evaluation of clients’ self-diagnosis of the case and advising client about legal rights.
4. Guidance and procedural information for filing or serving documents.
5. Reviewing correspondence and court documents.
6. Preparing and/or suggesting documents to be prepared.
7. Factual investigation: contacting witnesses, public record searches, in-depth interview of client.
8. Legal research and analysis.
9. Discovery: interrogatories, depositions, requests for document production.
10. Planning for negotiations, including simulated role playing with client.
11. Planning for court appearances made by client, including simulated role playing with client.
12. Backup and trouble-shooting during the trial.
13. Referring client to other counsel and to other experts.
14. Counseling client about possible appeal.
15. Procedural assistance with appeal and assisting with substantive legal argumentation in appeal.
16. Provide preventive planning and/or schedule legal check-ups.
17. Other services as needed by the client.


The client has the responsibility to perform those services that are not checked off. The lawyer is not authorized to perform those functions and not entitled to payment for them. If the client makes ineffective or self-destructive decisions or actions in handling a task for which the lawyer is not responsible, the client cannot blame or take legal action against the lawyer.
 

1. Practice Tips for an Unbundled Legal Practice

• Think about all the ways you offer limited legal services in your current practice;
• Are you clear about what unbundling is and how to explain its benefits to your clients?
• Are you alert to the risks of unbundling and how to respond to them effectively?
• Develop materials to clearly lay out the options available to the client for services you are able and willing to perform.
• Prepare your office so that before the client even calls, your set-up and your staff are centered around clients and their education and decision-making;
• If you use unbundling as a backup strategy to meet client demand, you can start offering discrete task services next week without changing anything you are currently doing;
• Proactively offering unbundling requires you to take concrete steps to orient the client about discrete task options at the earliest opportunity;
• Coaching from the sidelines still requires a game plan and involvement in the client’s problem;
• The initial client intake conference is your chance to focus your lawyering efforts to honor and meet client concerns and to emphasize client comfort and empowerment;
• Before launching into a limited lawyering engagement, join with the client in assessing whether the client and the type of case are appropriate for unbundling;
• Learn the rules around limited scope engagement and use those rules and the Sample Agreement to custom draft your own Limited Scope Client Lawyer Agreement;
• Clarify and stick to your fee arrangement – in unbundling, your client should never owe you money. Such an account receivable would destroy the unbundling relationship.
• Monitor your client’s actions throughout the limited scope engagement. Both you and the client should know when and how you will stay in touch;
• A limited engagement sometimes (often?) turns into a full service relationship. Remember, you probably would not have been hired originally if you had not offered the unbundled option.
• Reconverting back to limited scope from full service can be perilous—do so only after a full and frank disclosure to your client (preferably in writing) of the risks that client is re-assuming.
• Evaluate your clients’ satisfaction early and often; how else will you learn what you are doing right and what changes need to be made?