Posted on June 30, 2008 by John Steele
In the heat of the moment, people often forget common curtesy. Attorneys tend to handle this simple concept better then clients, who are emotionally involved and have a lot of anger. That being said, attorneys are people too.I found myself getting in a heated argument with another attorney and later that day, I asked myself what got into me? After seeing so many clients lose their cool, I did the same. And I think a large part of it is curtesy (or lack thereof). People want to be respected. And when we do not get respect, we get indignant and lash out.
I have seen negotiations break down because the other spouse acted like an ass out in the hallway during negotiations. In other words, my client was ready to compromise and settle everything until his spouse started insulting him in the hallway. So silly. I have found myself reminding spouses going through divorce that at one point it was a “till death do us part”, “mother of my children” kind of relationship. But now, that same person cannot say their spouses name without prefacing it with a swear word. Normally, the mediation process starts to work when the two parties are tired of venting on the other spouse, and are ready to move on. Posted on June 30, 2008 by John Steele
In the heat of the moment, people often forget common curtesy. Attorneys tend to handle this simple concept better then clients, who are emotionally involved and have a lot of anger. That being said, attorneys are people too. I found myself getting in a heated argument with another attorney and later that day, I asked myself what got into me? After seeing so many clients lose their cool, I did the same. And I think a large part of it is curtesy (or lack thereof). People want to be respected. And when we do not get respect, we get indignant and lash out.
I have seen negotiations break down because the other spouse acted like an ass out in the hallway during negotiations. In other words, my client was ready to compromise and settle everything until his spouse started insulting him in the hallway. So silly. I have found myself reminding spouses going through divorce that at one point it was a “till death do us part”, “mother of my children” kind of relationship. But now, that same person cannot say their spouses name without prefacing it with a swear word. Normally, the mediation process starts to work when the two parties are tired of venting on the other spouse, and are ready to move on.
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