An attorney should never try a custody case without first pursuing settlement.1 Spend time with your client to ensure that the client understands that whatever result is truly in the children’s best interests will ultimately also end up being in the parents’ best interest. The client also faces the risk of having a stranger, the judge, decide what is in the children’s best interest, and the result may be contrary to the children’s best interest.
Encourage your clients to be reasonable. Turn down, not up, the heat between the parties. You will not only become a better “family” lawyer, but a better human being. If appropriate, recommend mediation as an alternative method of settling disputes.2 Let your “word be your bond.”
In evaluating your client’s case, do not make the mistake of only believing your client’s version of the facts. There are always two sides to every story. Respect the objectives and concerns of both parties. The practice of family law is not so much about winning or losing. Rather, it is doing as little damage as possible to children who are in a difficult, often traumatic, situation not of their making.
- 1Cases involving domestic violence may require a different approach to settlement or foregoing settlement entirely. For a discussion of settlement in the context of domestic violence, see Section 4.11.3 of this manual’s chapter on representing survivors of domestic violence.
- 2Mediation should not be used in domestic violence cases. See La. R.S. 9:363.