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Are there benefits to choosing Female Divorce Attorneys?

The hiring of an attorney for your family law case is an important decision and one that should not be based upon advertisements alone. Give us a call and we will be happy to discuss our qualifications with you. Charles Scott has been practicing marital and family law in Florida since 1996 and we recognize how important and difficult a time this is in our clients’ lives. We aggressively represent our clients with compassion, confidentiality, and dedication to protecting your rights.

There are two types of divorce cases, they are settled cases, and contested cases. If the case is settled, there must be evidence of that settlement in the court file in the form of a signed marital settlement agreement or mediation agreement. If you have a settlement agreement it is fairly easy to set an uncontested final hearing before the judge. Even though you have a settlement agreement, you must still attend a final hearing, prove your residency, testify that you signed the settlement agreement, and that your marriage is broken, and ask the court to grant the divorce. You or your lawyer must prepare a “final judgement of dissolution” and bring that to the final hearing for the judge to sign. Most people don’t realize that judges don’t prepare orders, the lawyer must prepare the order and bring it to court for the judge to sign. If your case is not settled, you must appear before the court for a cases management conference, or a pretrial conference, at which time the court will schedule a trial of your case. A trial may not be set for several months, and the judge not a jury will hear the case. The judge will require strict proof of all allegations and requests for relief and absent proof may not award anything. The proof will be in the form of all the documents and information that was exchanged during discovery but must now be admitted into evidence. In addition it may be necessary to utilize expert witnesses such as a CPA, vocational rehabilitation expert, custody evaluator, psychologist, or other expert depending on the complexity of the issues and questions presented.

It is always a better outcome and significantly less expensive to resolve the case at a mediation rather than at trial. I always tell my clients why let some judge that does not know you or anything about your family make such important decisions, when you and your spouse can make these decisions yourself at a mediation.

One of the most common thoughts for a woman going through a divorce is whether or not to consider female divorce attorneys.

Everyone has their own opinions about the impact of gender on a legal case. From the legal side of things, here is an insider’s perspective on the benefits of choosing female divorce attorneys.

Gender and the Judge

Do judges care whether the lawyers who appear before them are male or female? Not really. Yes, in some parts of the country there may still be an “old boys network” where judges tend to favor certain lawyers over others, but that favoritism is usually based upon familiarity more than gender. Just like every other human being on the planet, judges tend to be more comfortable with people they know rather than with people they don’t know. So, judges tend to give the lawyers who appear before them consistently the benefit of the doubt. Strangers may have to prove themselves.

Gender and the Client

Some people work better with men, others work better with women. Some clients need a lawyer to keep them in line and moving in the right direction. They need someone who is more of an authority figure, and is not afraid to be hard on them. Others need a lawyer who understands and can relate to them. There are many female clients who come to The Law Offices of Charles D. Scott on the basis that they don’t want a lawyer who yells at them.

While most people assume that men are more aggressive and women are softer when it comes to lawyers, that is not always true. The difference tends to come down to personality more than gender.

The Lawyer’s Perspective

From a lawyer’s perspective, the gender of opposing counsel makes no difference at all. Male lawyers are no better, tougher, or more difficult to get along with than female lawyers. Even though the gender of the other lawyer in a case is not particularly important, other qualities about that lawyer will make all the difference in the world.

Regardless of which gender you’d prefer to work with, the team at The Law Offices of Charles D. Scott would be happy to hear your case and discuss it with you. If you’re considering a divorce and want to learn more about our Family Law services, please contact us today.