Can An Aggressive Divorce Lawyer Can Harm Your Divorce Case?

Some individuals suppose that being represented by an aggressive lawyer can help them get a better outcome in their divorce case. There are some situations that call for aggressive client advocacy, but persistent aggressive behavior by an attorney can cause a prolonged legal battle with skyrocketing expenses.

Acceptable situations for aggressive advocacy include:

- When the legal code clearly supports your arguments, and the opposing party is not aware of it.

- If a client is willing to spend money defending a position because it is important to his principles, even when being informed of the likelihood of losing.

- If opposing party attempts to intimidate you or your attorney, taking an assertive stance communicates that you will not be a pushover and sets the stage for negotiations rather than bullying.

An attorney that’s in the habit of continuously taking an aggressive stance can have a negative impact on the case if during settlement negotiations the lawyer persists in arguing rather than negotiating.

One example would be an attorney yelling at opposing counsel during mediation, “Why are you wasting my time with that stupid proposal? Give me something better than that.” A more productive response would be for the lawyer to counter with a new proposal and provide opposing party something to work with instead of flat out rejecting the offer.

The aggressive perspective in the first example detracts from negotiations and moves the parties further away from settling. This type of behavior usually increases emotions and moves everybody into a less productive state. Aggressive actions like this may ruin an otherwise easily settled case, and drag it on into an expensive and time-consuming trial that may end in a worse outcome than what was previously offered during mediation.

Rebecca Long Okura is a Utah divorce lawyer.