Spartanburg Divorce Lawyer & Attorney : Stevens-MacPhail Law Firm : South Carolina Family Law Serving Columbia, Charleston, Greenville, Hilton Head Island

In Family Court cases, one cannot overstate the importance of being able to prove your allegations.  Many of these cases are "he said / she said", so having the ability to give specific detail is particularly important.  In contested cases, I encourage my clients to keep journals for me so that we can later document specific dates and times that important events occurred.

Chris Schmiedeke of the Texas Family Law Blog blogged on this subject, and he agrees that journaling is important.  He points out that the problem with most stories and allegations in custody and visitation modification cases is that they are coming from memory. This creates two problems, one they cannot recall the story exactly, or most importantly they cannot put a date on it. This creates unreliability in the evidence. It also creates a he said, she said scenario.

Client: "My ex never exercises his visitation and when he does, he is always late."

Lawyer: (Drooling at the excellent information he is about to get) "Can you get me a list of all those dates he missed and the dates and times of when he was late?"

Client: "Well, I do not remember all the dates, but it is pretty much a couple times a month."

Lawyer: (Rolls his eyes and sighs) "Okay well try to put something together."

The way to combat this is to keep a journal of everything involved in your case or your child's life.  If the parent is always late to pick up the child, document it. If the parent is constantly missing visitations, document it. If your ex says something particularly nasty on the phone in front of the child, document it.

It doesn't have to be anything elaborate, just a simple calendar to refresh your memory down the road. Imagine you get in a courtroom and you are alleging that the other parent is constantly missing visitations. The other parent says that is not true, but does not really seem to have anything to back up their denial. On the other hand, you have your journal and know the exact dates, times and what was said for each missed visitation and can list them out for the judge in detail. Who do you think the judge will believe?

A simple little task, kept up with over time, can have such a HUGE impact on your case.  Remember not to be TOO detailed, as this is not a diary.  Remember that you could be required to give the other side a copy of your journal if you use it at a hearing. If you know that the other side could be reading it, that will help you keep it simple.

Source:  "Journaling in Texas Divorce and Modification Cases" by Chris Schmiedeke, published at his Texas Family Law Blog.

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Judges are particularly annoyed by lawyers (and their clients) who:

• ignore the rules of court;
• fail to prepare;
• arrive late;
• repeat themselves;
• act rudely;
• make frivolous arguments;
• mislead the court;
• argue with the judge;
• refuse to talk settlement; and
• request a last-minute continuance.

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This week's eNewsletter from the ABA Section of Family Law contained the following article of tips for better presentations.  I believe that these tips can assist any lawyer in making more effective presentations.  Note:  The article focuses on PowerPoint, but I believe that Apple's Keynote is far superior in every way (and most experts seem to agree).

The practice of law is regarded as a writing profession, but many attorneys find that their key professional moments come not in front of a keyboard, but in front of a live audience. Whether presenting an opening argument at an important trial, leading parties through a mediation session, or teaching a continuing legal education course, lawyers are frequently called upon to take a complex subject and compress it into a concise and coherent narrative. To accomplish this, many attorneys turn to Microsoft PowerPoint, the ubiquitous presentation software.

While a well-crafted set of PowerPoint slides can help build and strengthen a presentation, a poorly crafted PowerPoint can leave your audience confused and frustrated. Here are a few tips to make PowerPoint a more effective communication tool in your practice:

• Ditch the bullet points. Slide after slide of bullet points will lead to an audience that's either ignoring the slides or reading the slides and ignoring you. If you need to use text, stick to short words and phrases in large, clear print.
• Avoid overly complex graphics, charts, and screen shots. Even on a large screen, it's unlikely that your audience will be able to decipher and digest the image in the brief time it is shown. If the image is vital, supply a printout.
• Do use relevant photographs or simple graphics. Good, memorable images will help your audience retain what you're saying after they leave the presentation.
• Know your audience. Avoid legal jargon if you're speaking to a lay audience, and avoid over-simplification with an audience of attorneys.
• Know when not to use PowerPoint. PowerPoint creates very linear presentations which can quickly become confusing if the presentation elicits discussion or questions. Also, PowerPoint can seem a bit too polished for some situations; avoid it when you want your presentation to feel unscripted.
• Consider upgrading your software. PowerPoint 2007 (2008 on OS X) is a significant improvement over previous versions of the software, and it will allow you to produce more visually appealing presentations. If you're a Mac user, also consider Apple's Keynote software.
• Most importantly: have something meaningful to say. If a slide isn't meaningful, don't use it.

Source: ABA Legal Technology Resource Center by Joshua Poje, Research Specialist

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I recently represented a man in a contested divorce and child custody case.  The facts were strongly in our favor, partially due to the woman's questionable conduct during the marriage.  During the trial, things continued to go in our favor and against the woman, and it was obvious to everyone in the courtroom that her frustration level continued to increase.

Upon direct examination by the woman's attorney, she began to list her many complaints against my client.  After several minutes of this, she proclaimed that he was "the devil."  She paused for a moment, and she then said that the person sitting beside him (me) was "the devil" too. 

Now, I have been called many names during my professional career outside of court.  In fact, I dare say that I have been called pretty much every name under the sun.  Practicing in an adversarial system, people typically either love me or hate me -- depending on whether they were my client or the opposing party.  However, this was the first time that I have been called a name like this on the record. 

Of course, word has quickly spread of this new moniker, and I had another attorney greet me last week by stating "well, if it isn't the devil himself" (followed by a quick grin and chuckle).  I have warned the court reporter that she might be inundated with requests for that portion of the transcript.  My wife has also enjoyed this new "title" for me at home as well.

When the trial judge was announcing his decision at the end of the trial, he listed the wife's demeanor during trial and her obvious intense hatred of her husband as reasons that he awarded custody to my client.  In fact, the judge stated that he believed that if custody was awarded to the wife, she would take steps to insure that the children were alienated from their father and that she would work to destroy their relationship with him.

There are two morals to be learned from this story:

1. Your bad actions and/or misdeeds can (and usually do) come back to haunt you at trial.  I typically advise my clients to assume that they are always being recorded and not to do or say anything outside of court that they wouldn't want the judge to see/hear.
2. Even if things go against you during trial, you should remain calm, cool, and under control.  It will never benefit your case to call the other party names from the stand.  Instead, it will almost always backfire and result in you looking worse in the judge's eyes.

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