No, not those Dawgs. Though wasn’t that a lot of fun? I haven’t been prouder of someone I don’t know than I was of how Stetson Bennett rallied and led his team after that “fumble.” What a storybook finish to his college career. What a difference in game plan and execution compared to the SEC Championship game a few weeks before.
No, what I’m talking about are “bulldog” lawyers. And no, not the ones who went to law school at the University of Georgia. A common request I hear from potential clients who are looking for lawyers is that they want a “bulldog.” I personally cringe when I hear that. To me, it’s one of those phrases that conjures up very negative connotations like “good ol’ boy”, though I can appreciate that for other people, they may view those terms in a positive light.
The problem lies in what “bulldog” is being used to mean. My experience has been that the person is looking for someone who is going to be extremely and consistently aggressive, never allowing any consideration of the other side, and taking a “no holds barred” approach to their litigation. I watched someone who only knows how to operate like that go down in flames recently. It’s very often all too easy to use the “bulldog” attorney’s momentum to get them to take themselves out. The sad part is that their client suffers considerably as a result. But I also have no doubt that the client thought they needed a “bulldog” when they hired this aggressive attorney.
There is a difference in not being intimidated by the other side but also being capable of being strategic with prosecution and defense. Simply charging head first into battle and acting as nasty as possible to the other side rarely works in this world, in the legal realm or not. Our game plan is much more strategic – knowing when to be agressive, but understanding that diplomacy and tact is generally the much more successful approach to family law. And being successful is usually the goal in hiring an attorney in the first place.
And as any good Dawg knows, a good game plan makes all the difference in the world!
David Purvis