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Divorce: The Enemy Within, Part III(b)

On Behalf of | Sep 8, 2015 | Divorce

In tonight’s installment, our story diverges. Our divorce protagonist hired counsel last night. But what if he didn’t? What if he made it to the second firm for an interview? To read part III(a), click here.

You pull into a parking place amongs the cluster of suburban brownstones. You locate the building. It stands non descript, like the others, anonymous.

You enter their door. The lobby is silent. Except for a few pieces of furniture, the lobby is empty.

Someone approaches from down the hall.  “Hello.  We’ve been expecting you. I’m one of the attorneys here.  Another attorney will be meeting with you.” She hands you forms to complete.

After you’ve filled in all the blanks, you shout into the back, there’s still no one else in the lobby. the first attorney re-emerges, retrieves your paperwork and invites you to follow her.

She leads you down the short hall to a dimly lit office. The next attorney is seated behind her desk.  She rises to greet you as the first attorney hands across your papers.  The next atorney is comely, well dressed, sincere as she takes your hand. You sit.

Once again you tell your story. This time it is not so emotional. This time it seems much more efficient.

“What your wife did was wrong. No mother should treat the father of her children that way. Let me go talk to my partner about your case for just a moment.  I’ll be right back.”

You sit in the dark office, staring at the pictures and accolades on the wall. This attorney has awards for being among the best attorneys in the nation, according to some publication. As you rise to see just who bestowed such an award, the attorney returns, this time with her partner.

The partner’s grasps your hand in both of hers as she looks into your eyes. Her right hand rises to gently touch your arm. “I’m sorry to hear what has happened to you.  We will fix it,” she promises.

“We are going to immediately write a letter to her attorney insisting that you be allowed to see your children.  We will write a letter to set up a settlement conference so that we can resolve some temporary issues.”

You breathe deeply and relax a bit. This seems comforting. This makes sense.

You sign the contract. Your parents pay the retainer. “It’s okay, you tell them. These ladies will have my divorce resolved in no time. They are very sympathetic.”

Michael Manely

Michael practices principally in our Marietta office, however is serves our clients in all of our offices from Atlanta to Canton to Lawrenceville to Gainesville to Savannah

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