We’ve all done it. We’ve heard someone tell a story about something going on in their life and wondered why things turned out so differently for us. In the arena of legal cases, we do the same thing. We try to make sense of the difference by blaming the court system, the Judge or the lawyer. While it is tempting to look for someone to blame, be careful. The difference in results may not be as simple as you think.
1. Your case is nothing like your friends Your friend has won every motion, you haven’t. Your lawyer is a hack right? Well, maybe not. Sometimes in our haste to make unflattering comparisons, you forget that you are mixing apples and oranges. You may be losing motions in your DUI case, but your friend is suing someone for a DUI related car accident. They may both involve the same thing, but one is a criminal case and the other is a civil case. They are not remotely the same. The objectives are not the same. Comparing them will get you nothing.
2. Your facts are different On the surface, your custody case is just like your friend’s. You are both divorced with young children and your ex is fighting you for custody. You may even have the same lawyer. You can’t figure out why your friend got full custody and you are still fighting. The simple answer is the facts. While your friend may tell you everything they think is relevant, they often don’t know what the tipping point was for the Judge. Also, they sometimes don’t tell you the details like how they had to show 3 years worth of negative drug test results or that their ex had an undiagnosed psychiatric illness. No case is the same because no two people are the same.
3. Your lawyer is different Seems simple. Different lawyers have different strategies. In fact, even the same lawyer has different strategies for different cases. You need to focus on finding an attorney who fits with the facts of your case, and YOUR style. Even the best lawyer in the world can’t get a good result with bad facts and a bad attorney/client relationship. So remember, if you are not sure about the best method for getting a good result in your case, stop comparing. Each case is unique. Make your case decisions based on your own uniqueness.