New Lawyer...

A close family friend of my parents' spoke to her daughter about my situation. Her daughter, as it turns out, has been a Barristers' Clerk for 25 years and really knows who is who within the Sydney legal fraternity.

She used to send a lot of work DH's lawyers' way, until she began to be too expensive, too aggressive and too arrogant. She told me that DH's lawyer requires $20,000.00 upfront before she will take your case. If DH's financial statement is true, there is no way he could have afforded that. More lies.

She reacted to my story pretty much as most of you have. She said that I needed a new lawyer as I felt that he wasn't "leading" my case. She was shocked at the lack of pro-active steps taken by my lawyer (we seem to only be responding to DH's lawyer - waiting to see how they are leading the case instead of trying to negotiate and outrageously refute his allegations towards me).

And she said that she knows the lawyer just right for me in this situation.

20 minutes later, I was on the phone to my potential new lawyer. And *OH* what a difference just in style of communicating! She said "bastard!" in all the right places (regarding DH), asked for details steps of the case and was quite shocked at the lack of action taken. She was reassuring and calming and said that she knew DH's lawyer well and that her (DH's lawyer) attitude will change once she (DH's lawyer) knows she (my potential new lawyer) is on the case (*phew* - I'm going to have to give them code names!!).

Anyway... the main thing was that she sounded outraged at what I'm being put through by a lawyer (DH's) who is known to be aggressive and bullying and unwilling to negotiate. She also likes to drag things out so that she can justify her $20,000 minimum fee. The impression that I'm getting is that my current lawyer is not "ball-sy" enough to face up to her. My potential new lawyer, however, says that she is. And she's passionate about it.

I'm seeing her next week. The kids are seeing their own lawyer - for the very first time - this afternoon. And we've got a mention in front of the Registrar on Friday morning.

And I'm feeling slightly lighter. As though somebody with the tools and knowledge that I need to access is on my side.

Oh, I still haven't heard back from my current lawyer. I've left him 2 phone messages and sent him 2 emails full of questions. The last thing he wrote to me was "I await your instructions".... without giving me a single idea as to what those instructions could or should be. Those instructions will now probably be "Send my file to ....".