The Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct remind us, that as attorneys we function not only as advocates in adversarial situations, but also as negotiators, evaluators and advisors.[1]  The Rules outline our affirmative duty to provide information reasonably necessary to inform clients or other persons seeking our advice of the advantages and disadvantages of proposed courses of conduct which includes discussion of the client’s or other person’s options and alternatives.[2]  The Rules also provide that it is our clients who determine the scope of our representation and that we must respect our clients’ decisions concerning the objectives...

Sometimes lawyers and other professionals get into legal disputes. How do they handle those disputes?  What is it like to have them as clients?  What can we learn about ourselves as practitioners and what can we take from those experiences to make us better practitioners when we are working with other clients? Don’t forget to add your thoughts and questions in the comment section below. This is “Talking With….” Woody Mosten, 9 (Would you like to join us for a future conversation? We occasionally invite up to four people. Sign up here for our email list. We send out notices and details of when and how you can join in...

Think about an athlete.  To excel in any sport, whether individual or team, an athlete does not simply walk out on the playing field and compete.  There is an incredible amount of work that goes into being a top-notched athlete: the training; the nutrition; the psychological work; and the support of those around the athlete.  By the time the athlete’s event takes place the idea of “winning” the event is absent from the athlete’s mind.  Instead, the athlete’s focus is on breathing, on form, on the mechanics of how their body moves.  If the athlete does all the little things well, while not everyone can win, the athlete will realize success....

Poetry  by MAURY WHITE, ESQ.  **** Hello Mr. Lawyer, I’m sorry to report I think it’s time for me to take my husband to court. I don’t want to go to the cleaners and I only want what’s fair, What can you do for me and will you really care? We do not like court of course I’ve heard there’s a different way to divorce. But who will represent the scoundrel? He said he’ll find a shark. I fear he’ll hide the money and keep me in the dark. Do not fear the darkness, the best are in our group. We will give him a list of lawyer names They’ll each give him the straight poop. We do not like court,...

By Dr. Karen Gail Lewis            When two people decide the love they thought would last forever doesn’t, sadness reigns.  Sad, yes, but not necessarily destructive.  If couples divorce with dignity and respect, their children benefit. Traditionally, the best divorce was to hire a shark who would help the wife “take him for everything he’s got.”  And, help the husband, “make sure she doesn’t get a dime.” With Collaborative Divorce, couples no longer need a shark.  Collaborative Divorce is relatively new, moving across North America, Europe, and Australia, leaving well adjusted children and cooperative co-parents in its wake. Collaborative...