Do You Want to Win Your Case? Should You Hire a Litigator? Do You Care?

What Type of Attorney Do You Really Need? Do You Want to Win? You Don't Care?

Do you have a case where you want to win, or need to win your case?
Do you have the winning facts?  Do you know what law would or would not support your position? Do you want or need an actual litigator for your case?

Hiring an actual advocate (attorney litigator) is not the same as hiring:

(1) Collaborative law attorneys, --- OR...

(2)... a  "Mediator" which works with BOTH parties.   Also, mediating* a case with only one attorney means ...The "mediator" helps people talk the issues through, supposedly helping to "settle" the dispute themselves. In this attorney's opinion, it would not be recommended in most cases, because typically the overbearing spouse simply bulldozes the other spouse.

*[Mediation for visitation is not the same thing as mediation of an entire divorce case. Mediation for visitation/custody is required by law in CA when there is no agreement.]

There are many pitfalls that can arise in divorce; many of them involve financial transactions that one spouse had no knowledge of; assets that one spouse did not know about; children that were conceived outside the marriage and spouse never knew other spouse was paying; secret business dealings that was predicated on all cash; illegal actions by one spouse implicating the other spouse who had no knowledge; large debts racked up by one spouse, without the other spouse even knowing such debt existed; one spouse signing the other spouse's name for a credit card, then ruining the other spouse's credit.... NONE of these things, in this attorney's opinion, should be addressed in either mediation or collaborative law scenario.
         IF in fact, such secret dealings had already taken place, and both parties agreed to use one Mediator, and both parties executed an MSA (marital settlement) and went on their merry way-- if it was determined that fraud had taken place and the party who got taken for a ride wanted to then set aside that judgment-- you are looking at paying yet another attorney to UN-DO the judgment or possibly file an appeal, or there could be other options.

       But basically, there's a limit to how long you can wait to un-do or set aside almost anything---therefore, it's very dangerous when time limits may come into play,  for how much time you have to set almost anything aside??  It's possible it could be too late, in which case, you would really need a litigator for sure. In some instances, common law may have to be used (I do not have the time to explain that part, but if you hire a litigator who has done set aside cases, they will know what I am talking about..)
             
 Plus, there are huge time barriers to trying to set aside any of this!
==========================================================
What is one very concerning issue, monetarily--is the rise of secret bitcoin holdings. If you don't know what bitcoin is, please look it up online!!
==========================================================

If in fact, it is completely unknown to one spouse that the other spouse has a trove of bitcoin, and no one else knows about it, but then somehow the spouse who doesn't know later finds out years later, and it's half a million bucks--- what is the spouse who just found out,  going to do?  Failure to disclose is breaking the law.  That's just one example!!

----->Especially if you have issues in the 3 lines below, which happened BEFORE the case finalized---- you should never hire anyone except an advocate litigator. Aggressive at that.THERE ARE HUGE TIME BARRIERS TO FILING by statutory law, so don't assume anything!

Actual Fraud, Duress, Mental Incapacity
Mistake (as to stipulated or Uncontested judgments); Coercion,Perjury
Failure to Exchange Declarations-Disclosure documents (Assets Debts)-or-
  when exchanged, i.e.--have false, misleading or improper numbers, values, dates..
[While all of this can be looked up, it is best to consult a litigator and show the attorney
the document/evidence in question, because this is not a guessing game!]

We live in a society where people often want what they want, and when clients hire attorneys to get something done, especially in family law, it's often because one SIDE tried to take advantage of the other side.

HOWEVER, the vast majority of most divorces and break ups, are because the couple cannot agree on a lot of things, including (just an example....) post judgment orders.........

How to raise the kids-- too lenient?  too strict?
How to spend income from employment or inheritance
How to avoid too much tv, too much bad influence, too much Facebook?
Your spouse is secretly funneling community funds and hiding it?
Your spouse is bipolar, alcoholic, addicted to opiates, and can't be controlled?

Of all the problems attorney has seen over several decades, the problems around children tend to generate the worst issues, followed by physical harm, financial issues, and alcohol or drug use.

And remarkably, attorney has seen clients REFUSE to take what he/she is entitled to, and then SETTLE a case by using an attorney who is or was a mediator, --- in other words, the attorney is not acting as a litigator for the client?

If you are entitled to something, why would you pay someone to settle a case when you could have settled it without help????   Collaborative law and mediation means if you don't settle the case using whomever you hired, those attorneys cannot represent you in court anyway.

You THEN have to hire new attorneys!!

While mediation and collaborative may be good for some cases (which means you are settling case by paying people to settle it without court)-- it is essentially negotiation. Judges are not involved. If you work something out and then don't like it later--- what you have -- is a problem.

              Some of the down sides of  collaborative law (which includes hiring people like accountants and other experts) and which makes it costly:

The Expense; Impact of termination and cost of new counsel; No advocacy for one or both parties; directed conversation between parties, power imbalances, difficult issues might remain secret (such as domestic violence, addictions, drugs, gambling, infidelities,etc.); Possible inadequate information collection, potentially less support for views of children. Much money is made by collaborative attorneys simply because collaborative cases and their private agreements, do NOT

Basically, in mediation there is no advocate for YOU.
In collaborative law, BOTH sides work on issues, but NO ONE is an advocate for YOUR side.
The collaborative view is to work out issues, not really take sides as an advocate----a true advocate is there to represent YOU, not the spouse.

This is part of the reason that most people in a divorce WANT an advocate, and need a litigator --- because they are being taken advantage of, steamrolled, or being misled or manipulated. Whether it's in the financial area, support area, children, or even moral fortitude.....

You don't have to believe attorney, look at one of my other sites for example, where it is stated in plain English, by the actual mediator--  that making the decisions with a mediator is not the fault of the mediator, and the mediator is quoted... (he is quoted verbatim, as this was published on the mediator's site..)

  "The role of the mediator is to assist the participants reach an agreement. 

 It is not the mediator's role to give legal advice or to assure

 that the agreement is fair or equitable to either party.  

There may well be unintended consequences resulting in one or more

 of the participants suffering "buyers remorse", but they made the decision

  to accept the terms  and entered into the agreement, not the mediator..."

 Note--again, the "mediation" we are speaking of, is NOT the family law mediation process that the COURTS do, for contested custody.
       Private mediation means both parties choose to use one mediator to arrive at some agreement, and because a mediator does not dispense legal advice the way a legal advocate would do--as in actual litigation--where each party is represented by their own separate attorney-- the "mediator" himself or herself--- is only assisting both parties to REACH an agreement.

Carefully NOTE-- the mediator does not need to assure either party that the agreement is fair or equitable to either party.   LOL-- that's fine if you don't care what you are getting, or you don't know your rights and you don't care about about that either??

       Unfortunately---if you do this and then realize you lost out on something because you did NOT know your rights at all---then guess what??? You are in trouble, most likely!!!!

Why Attorney is Different--AND--MORE AFFORDABLE-- Than Most Attorneys?

Think about how most attorneys handle clients; attorney figures out the case, the law, and hopefully the client-- and they usually charge a lot of money, right?  *(If saving on "legal fees"/costs interests you-----make sure to keep reading, as attorney can almost guarantee savings of 30-45% from other attorneys fees...attorney knows this, because attorney only works on a limited amount of cases,  has no high costs for paying employees/overhead.

Most work is remotely done and you are not required to visit an office, or wait around with others-- especially with that covid always going to be around---unfortunately??

But-- what are clients REALLY concerned about??

 Only what is fair? Only that it's   "equal" ??

                                                    Only that they do the other party in?

                                                                         

The truth is, MOST clients WANT to WIN their cases!  

That simply means, they hire an attorney in an attempt to get what they want, fix what they want, and get a result that they want-- right?  Well, let's say this--every client has their own wishes. Every client doesn't know all the laws, but most clients know what they want, and WHY they want it.

IS TRYING TO WIN YOUR CASE WRONG OR SELFISH???

In a few instances, it could be selfish, if the interests of the kids are thrown down while the wishes of the guilty parent are focused on, and ignoring the kid or children's best interests.

Example:  One parent is guilty of physically and emotionally abusing a child.
Parent doesn't deny this.  

Instead, parent  (1)  attempts to force the other parent into dropping 

either a protective order, DV TRO, or other restraint against the moving parent, 

so that he/she can then be scott free from the either the DV TRO or protective order,

 and then keep everything the way it was, (2)  without

 taking care of the harmed child or children, 

and  (3) without having repercussions to one's status in community as an abuser??????

Therefore, my job, as I see it, is to determine whether I can do that in each case? Having done this work for so long, experience does have its advantages....so unlike many attorneys who are only interested in being paid, I attempt to see if I can actually DO what the client wants; whether or not it is feasible, doable, ethical, and realistic? Will it harm others? Are there disadvantages to what the client wants? Is the client informed on possible downsides, or does client even know the law?

As an attorney, I am exceptionally (and I don't say that sarcastically!) good at determining what people want, and how to get it, and how difficult it will be.
     I have been trained both in social work, and team building,  group efforts, fund raising, non profits.  I understand people well, and work hard to instill faith where hope starts to go down.

Maintaining one's self esteem will help weather the most difficult cases; 

often, I see that clients have been taken advantage of, steamrolled, misled, 

and plain out lied to?? It is very common. 

I have taken cases which are dead losers and turned

 the cases completely around--this is possible in cases,

 sometimes because the wrong steps were used,

 facts were ignored, improper conclusions resulted?

Understanding  people, while helping them win their case is a very important role 

in helping kids that are in families with issues--and most of the time, 

it actually is NOT about the money.

Attorney has been able to handle many, many cases at prices far

below the average hourly rate, which usually has added charges for employees

and high rent offices.  Attorney does not have many of these expenses, and

chooses not to operate with high overhead.

If you need legal help and direction, please feel free to call attorney, 

there is no cost for phone consultation!

Domestic Violence Restraining Orders in California

Apparently, it does appear that there are sometimes "domestic violence restraining orders" filed that are specious or not really appearing valid. On the other hand, there are some cases that are so bad, we wonder why no DV TRO had not been filed prior?

I believe that I have seen and filed quite a few DV TRO cases, and my recollection is that they were granted...No attorney should really be filing a DV TRO for a case where it is not warranted. I have seen many people file such cases, but then not get the TRO granted in the end. If judge denies or drops a TRO, usually there is a good reason.

While attorney does understand that some people file TRO cases but they are lying about the facts, I have seen many of them that did contain valid issues but a judge would not grant the TRO, and that's likely when the client would call me. DV TRO cases can be very very messy and involved depending on the circumstances but there are ways and methods to substantiate almost anything if one has enough knowledge to do it. Since most clients are not attorneys, they may fail to use certain facts and then insert data that has no bearing on the facts. This should be avoided.

Further, it is possible to get a non-clets order on the same case if the facts are not quite sufficient to rise to the level of a DV TRO, there can still be a partial stay away to some degree, or some other conditions which are not that stringent; this is usually done between attorneys (in my opinion)....so if you believe you need a DV TRO but the Facilitator's won't help you, I do offer free consultations on family law issues and DV cases.

Attorney Has Worked in So Cal+ Nor Cal.. and Has Handled Cases in About 28 CA Courts

Attorney has worked in both Northern and Southern CA courts, including federal court and bankruptcy cases...much of attorney's work has been in Family law and animal law cases, with attorney prevailing in one of the rare animal seizure cases in Hollywood--which was illegal. Attorney conducted a post seizure hearing and won, the Hearing officer finding that the seizure was actually illegal.

Further, although there was a federal case in Sacramento brought by animal owners who were victims of radical animal rescues who committed fraud and worse, the attorney that handled the case did not proceed to use the method that should have been used in order to prove that the CA state law on animal seizures, is actually illegal? It can be easily proven even by reading the law itself. Attorney has found that many animal owners don't want to be in the spotlight and just give up to avoid being the subject of animal activists.

Attorney has also seriously looked at the current scenario wherein only rescues, shelters and 'Humane' groups can 'sell' certain pets. After examining the laws in CA, attorney believes that the double or triple standard is imposed by San Diego (city) as against any groups other than themselves (shelters, rescues, non profits)-- is actually illegal and in violation of the Cartright Act.Some may disagree, but I invite any of such persons to prove me wrong. It is doubtful because most people simply do not care enough to actually investigate laws these days.

In any event, animal law cases are very difficult and sometimes impossible due to the animal control people or rescuers--it depends on who did what? Attorney has seen countless animal cases go awry due to many reasons--and most of the reasons were due to activists who were not only wrong, they were outright liars. Thus anyone who wants a well bred animal these days, should buy (for example) a dog--from a known breeder who actually knows what they are doing. Since Peta's history of errant and bad actions is legendary, and many rescues have no animals available, attorney recommends that one BUY an animal from a reputable breeder or even hobby breeder. Some rescued animals are ok, but for newbie owners, I would never recommend it.

Attorney has long years of experience in animal rescue, and there are not many animals for rescue available these days, unless dumped into a pound. Attorney is even aware that rescues fight over obtaining these animals. Therefore, I personally cannot see fighting over such a thing, especially if the animal was brought into the USA from down below the border.

And in a horrific actual incident out of San Diego (a humane group)--actually foolishly adopted out a large dog--to a husband/wife who had an infant, and apparently... no experience with large dogs at all? No only is that highly stupid, it's insane? So what happened? WELL--this is both horrific and terrible--- this couple, who (seemingly had NO EXPERIENCE WITH DOGS) --I am assuming--, MUCH LESS GROWN DOGS---was allowed to "adopt" a giant sized dog, breed unsure of, but resembling molosser type....this couple had a baby, and I mean BABY--that slept in bed with the couple....I say that these people must not have had experience because if one had ANY experience with a molosser type dog, one would NOT be placing a 65lb dog in bed with a baby or infant, PERIOD.

Foolishly--this couple, who apparently knew NOTHING ABOUT DOGS, MUCH LESS "RESCUED" dogs--allowed the dog to sleep right next to the BABY. NOW anyone who knows anything at all about any dog from a pound or rescue---should NEVER think that just because someone at the rescue tells you they know some certain dog---it is not necessarily true at all. AND WHEN SOMEONE WHO DOES NOT KNOW DOGS AT ALL, WANTS TO ADOPT A HUGE MOLOSSER GROWN DOG, AND ALLOW IT TO SLEEP NEXT TO A VERY YOUNG BABY, THAT IS ALMOST SHEER SUICIDE???? https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/dog-that-killed-mira-mesa-newborn-was-newly-adopted-rescue/2002815/

WELL-- AS YOU MAY HAVE FIGURED OUT, THE BABY WAS KILLED BY THE LARGE DOG RIGHT THERE IN THE BED, AND ONE CAN ONLY IMAGINE HOW MORTIFYING THAT WOULD BE TO THE PARENTS WHO OBVIOUSLY WERE NOT VERY BRIGHT..AND THE HUMANE GROUP SHOULD HAVE BEEN ROYALLY SUED FOR EVEN ADOPTING OUT THAT DOG TO THAT COUPLE!!!!

I used to live in San Diego so I know what those idiots there do, and believe me, they are mostly pretty dumb. Even the San Diego city attorney agreed with me during the time we were working against the ridiculous pet laws (at least 1 law was illegal) and the City attorney agreed with me that it was in fact, illegal? It has probably not even changed so if true, then it's illegal now.

Regardless, even if a 'humane" group did not see a dog 'exhibit' any type of violence, it was sheer stupidity to adopt it to a family with a baby at all--and it shows the parents had very little knowledge of canines in general.. Many dogs are given up due to aggression but some entities or former owners, will fail to disclose that fact. Simply testing a dog will not necessarily disclose that an animal is a biter.Or a child killer.

Attorney has done animal rescue prior for many years, and has worked on many animal law cases, and was one of the first CA attorneys in 2007 to challenge the pitbull law in Aurora Colorado in Federal Court; and no, we did not win [due to rational basis] law.

ONLY in 2021-- many years and years having passed, did the law in Denver change, and pitbulls are allowed in Denver--and it was not done by any specific law in court--the city finally relented to APBT dogs being allowed under pressure from scads of owners both online, and those otherwise pushing the city to CHANGE the law against pitbulls. It remains to be seen how that law will play out. As we all know, Kory Nelson, infamous from that jurisdiction, believes that all APBT are killers. Well, that's an argument for a different day.

Domestic Violence TRO, Child Abuse, Custody in CA

Domestic violence cases in CA can be a civil case, as a tort, under CA Civil Code section 1708.6, as a family law issue under FC Section 6200,  the statutes under the CA Domestic violence Prevention Act, or under CA PC Section 273.5 as a criminal case, or possibly both. Usually a domestic violence case under the CA Penal Code may result in criminal charges leading to a Protective Order.

The most common DV (domestic violence) cases are usually heard in family law courts, and will often involve conduct such as alleged bodily injury, threats, assault, keeping one under surveillance, destruction of your property, harass, threaten, etc. For complete definition, see Fam. Code. Sections 6203 and 6320.  In some instances, the police may file charges under the Penal Code, and if granted by Judge, a criminal protective order can pretty much ruin your career, depending on your employer.

 It will usually ruin your chances of being the custodial parent [unless you live in a county where corruption is known/widespread; we have seen judge award children to criminals/child molesters with long history of jail, drugs, and violence.

Criminal informants are legal under federal law, and are widely used in both state and federal cases, see   https://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/secret_snitches_california_case_uncovers_long_standing_practice_of_planting  .......

        Whether you believe it or not,  in one case the defendant was jailed with bail of over $92,000, and over 102 people placed 911 calls to the police; then guess what?  He already had a current Criminal Protective Order in place--BUT the  criminal was not charged with anything at all--and judge later actually awarded custody to this guy?? (He is or was a criminal informant, and obviously he must have been owed something...) So, one can see that sometimes the system doesn't work the way it should. In this case, the District Attorney chose NOT to file anything against the defendant, despite him breaking the law (as there was already a criminal Protective Order in place!) It is believed that the client will proceed to file a tort claim against the county on that issue.

CALIFORNIA AND GUN LAWS POLICY........Polls, Research, Statistics and More................

Many people in Northern California have very strong views re guns, gun control laws and related..and when we do cases involving, let's say-- Domestic Violence in court, it's obvious that gun issues can come up? Attorney has always had an interest in gun laws simply because they affect many of the cases that attorney might be involved with, including domestic disputes, divorces, and criminal case situations. People may recall when Ellie Nesler shot and killed the alleged molestor of her son, there were no weapon scanners at courthouses (at least I don't believe there were then..) but of course now, one cannot bring anything in their backpack or handbag, etc. when going through weapon scanners at courts.....that resemble knives, guns and similar. Probably not even screwdriver or hardware implements....I have had guards at courthouse closely examine contents of my purse or case files at both Federal courthouses and all state courthouses. Apparently they do not leave out females when trying to find something that shouldn't go inside the courthouses? LOL!

Even in Butte County, which does not have a huge population, there are usually 3 security guards at the FAMILY LAW, CIVIL LAW entrance.....there are no criminal cases at the Butte Superior Court in Chico, the criminal cases are in Oroville. But to the guards' credit, most of them are great at helping people when the need arises. The court baliffs are usually quite attentive and courteous.

https://calmatters.org/explainers/california-gun-laws-policy-explained/ ....Most attorneys in family law are used to hearing stories, most of them likely bad, and maybe your case is similar...? It is no joke that family law cases cause great concern even to the court guards (police or sheriff) in courthouses, in fact it is a known fact that family law case litigants usually pose more problems than criminal defendants in court houses.....even before there were weapon scanners, the cases which caused problems were often family law cases due to the high emotional toll on litigants. And when weapon scanners started being used, it was mostly attributed to the case of molestation where Ellie Nesler avenged her son's molestation..that is my recollection in any event.......... Poll: Number Of Americans Who Favor Stricter Gun Laws ... https://www.npr.org › 2019/10/20 › poll-number-of-amer... Oct 20, 2019 — The overall percentage of Americans who support tougher gun laws is on the rise, even as the partisan divide remains stark, according to a ... People also ask What country has the highest rate of gun violence? Are people in America allowed to have guns?

Feedback Key facts about Americans and guns | Pew Research Center https://www.pewresearch.org › ... › Gun Policy May 11, 2021 — Here are some key findings about Americans' attitudes about gun ... Another 24% of adults say gun violence is a moderately big problem. Public opinion on gun control in the United States - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Public_opinion_on_gu... In March 2018, 67% of Americans supported stricter regulation of firearms sales, according to a Gallup poll with a margin of sampling error of +/- 4% at the 95% ... America's gun culture in charts - BBC News https://www.bbc.com › world-us-canada-41488081 Apr 8, 2021 — Charts explaining some of the key statistics behind gun ownership and attacks linked to guns in the US.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE--DO YOU NEED A RESTRAINING ORDER?

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE DOES NOT JUST INVOLVE PHYSICAL VIOLENCE!

https://www.emedicinehealth.com/domestic_violence/article_em.htm

https://domesticviolencelegalchico.blogspot.com/    Another of Attorney's Online Sites, showing how pervasive domestic violence is............


https://domesticviolencelegalchico.blogspot.com/2018/05/how-domestic-violence-affects-women.html

IF YOU NEED A DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RESTRAINING ORDER FOR YOURSELF/OR CHILDREN,

DO  NOT  WAIT !!!!!!!!

YOU CAN USUALLY OBTAIN ONE AT NO COST EITHER FROM 

AN AGENCY, OFTEN A NON PROFIT,  THAT SPECIFICALLY HELPS PEOPLE

 GET DOMESTIC RESTRAINING ORDERS, 

OR CONTACT THE SELF HELP UNIT AT THE LOCAL COURTHOUSE

THEY CAN HELP YOU PREPARE THE DOCUMENTS.

IF YOU ARE SEEKING AN ATTORNEY FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, 

MAKE SURE THAT THE ATTORNEY HAS DONE THESE

 RESTRAINING ORDERS BEFORE AND IS FAMILIAR ALSO 

WITH SOME OF THE CRIMINAL

 LAW ISSUES, AS SOME DV TRO ORDERS MAY END UP

 AS CRIMINAL PROTECTIVE ORDERS