Pittsburgh Family Law Services, P.C.

Pittsburgh Family Attorney Serving Allegheny County Area
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One of the handy things about being a divorce and family lawyer in my own practice is that I am free to choose the face I present to the world. “Play your strengths,” says the common wisdom. “Do what sets you apart from the herd… as long as you don’t leave the pasture.”

I have never been a “corporate” person, and I prefer the flexibility of relating to clients personally, instead of following a standardized policy. Call me on the telephone, and if either I, my associate attorney Tara Hutchinson or my paralegal Deborah are immediately available, you will get a human voice and not some computer asking you to play a symphony on your keypad just to reach somebody’s voice mail. I am a perfectionist when it comes to my work, but if I took myself as seriously as I take my professional responsibilities, I would find life much less satisfying. So, how far away from the herd is too far? Now you get to decide.

I enjoy creative writing as well as professional writing, and the painful occasion of my own separation from my former wife was an inspiration to pick up my pen. I wanted to see if I could create something positive out of such a negative experience. I recommend that sort of constructive attitude to anyone going through a difficult transition, especially when you were not the one who made the choice to face it. Healing happens, and I have found that it happens best when you let yourself see past the grief and anger, to accept that what happens next depends very much on the choices you make right now, just when you least want to focus on anything outside of your own pain and sense of loss. Author Neil Gaiman had it right: when facing the most difficult times of your life, make good art.

Being something of a traditionalist like many in my profession, I prefer the classical forms. The sonnet has long been my favorite. I offer you a piece I wrote shortly after my separation:

The sun has set at last, its passing light
A faded blessing, embers of the pyre
That once consumed a sky now burnt to night
(Where flicker tiny echoes of its fire).

These rooms that knew her smile are much the same.
A candle’s teardrop gutters; tiny spark
To set new shadows dancing with the flame,
And summon back the twilight to the dark.

Oh, poisoned glow! to mock a time now gone
And show the secret spring beneath each eye;
How can I turn ahead to greet the dawn
When in my heart, the day has yet to die?

Small friend, be now my sweet departed sun:
Until your wax is gone, we burn as one.

I leave it for you to decide, whether a hard-boiled old warhorse of a Pittsburgh divorce lawyer like myself can also show a sensitive and artistic side before the public, and still appear professional. If not, I invite you to turn your attention to the other, more practical and informative offerings on this site.

If you need legal assistance with your divorce or family law matter in Southwestern Pennsylvania, call my office to set up a personal consultation with an affordable family lawyer and to learn more about Pennsylvania no fault divorce and how it affects you. Please do not comment anonymously, and do not post anything that you consider confidential. We try to be responsive to commentary and questions, but know that posting here will not create an attorney/client relationship and that we will not offer legal advice via the Internet.

Family Law Representation in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County
CALL 412-371-4500 FOR YOUR FREE CONSULTATION
READ MORE ARTICLES ABOUT FAMILY LAW IN PENNSYLVANIA.

READ THE REVIEWS on Google, Facebook and Avvo.

Romantic surprises can make a relationship magical. Holiday surprises can enrich a family and create memories that make us smile, even decades later. Surprises in a courtroom, though, are usually less joyful… and may be very, very bad news.

We have all done things we are not proud of, or wish we could undo. When you sit in the office of your divorce lawyer, it is easy to give in to the temptation to ignore those regrets and sweep aside the shades of gray in favor of a clear-cut tale of black and white, with yourself firmly cast in the role of the “good guy.” Think twice.

As your divorce lawyer, I’m on your side. It’s my job to be on your side, so you don’t have to convince me that you are the hero in the situation or give into the instinct to cover up your own contribution to a problem. Most often in family law, I find that situations are less about right and wrong, then they are about getting the facts straight and making sure that you are able to make the most of opportunities while getting the best protection available. The more I know, the more I can take into account when advising you about when to stand firm, and what risks to choose. Unless you tell me that you are going to commit a crime, hide assets or lie to the court, I must treat anything you tell me as confidential.

When a client doesn’t tell me everything, we are both left at a disadvantage. I tell people all the time: no one, no one, has a perfect case; not you, not your spouse. I can learn about the painful stuff from you in my office, or from my opposing counsel in the courtroom. You can guess which one gives me the most time to prepare!

Early in my career, I represented a husband whose wife was suing him for spousal support. On the day of the hearing, his wife told the court about her part-time job as a waitress, showing pay stubs that demonstrated her economic dependence on her husband. It looked open-and-shut, except for one small matter. Having been primed by my client, I asked her on cross examination, “Isn’t it true that in addition to working as a waitress, you also work some evenings as an exotic dancer?” Her answer: “Yes, I do.” The look of surprise on her lawyer’s face was priceless! Once we had established that she made more money in some evenings than my client did in a week, that was the end of her support claim.

How much money in counsel fees might the wife have saved, had she only let her lawyer in on her true situation so that he could advise her? My philosophy is that the very best way to get out of trouble is not to get into it, in the first place.

Bottom line: as your lawyer, my attitude is, “Talk to me… I’m here to help you.”

On the related subject of things that cause problems between lawyers and clients, this article from The Huffington Post offers some interesting insights.

If you need legal assistance with your divorce or family law matter in Southwestern Pennsylvania, call me to set up a personal consultation. Please do not comment anonymously, and do not post anything that you consider confidential. We try to be responsive to commentary and questions, but know that posting here will not create an attorney/client relationship and that we will not offer legal advice via the Internet.

Posts By Pittsburgh Family Law Services, P.C.

Fourteen lines of parting

To a lawyer, surprises are never pleasant!