She Wanted To Be a Lawyer Since She Was 11 Years Old
My parents were very protective of my brother and me, moderately into discipline and control but still loving and encouraging. They were always united in child issues and it took a lot of persuasion and persistence to modify or influence their decisions. So I began lobbying in earnest at an early age and learned to express my positions and argue my cases. I have always loved a good argument and winning one is a natural “high” for me. Although I don’t go out on Saturday nights cruising for confrontations, I seldom go out of my way to avoid them. It must be an inherited trait and an acquired “taste”. Family and personal relationships have always fascinated, intrigued, and often plagued me. I have been
captivated by many of my own relationships and by those of my family, friends, and clients. Relationships are as intricate and varied as anything else in nature – sometimes powerful, sometimes weak but always complicated and interesting.
A traditional family is generally thought of as a married couple raising their children under one roof. As you know in this era, many families start out traditional but become fractured and modified and some don’t even start traditionally. Even so, these modified structures can often lead to satisfying lifestyles with loving and safe relationships with the children and with new partners. Hope abounds.
It is this belief and the strong desire to be a protector of the children that motivate me to own an exclusive family law practice. I have been blessed with a wonderful relationship with my mother and father. They have always had a close loving relationship and a powerfully strong marriage. My father’s first wife was destroyed by an unhealthy relationship with her father that led to her death. My father realized the profound effect fathers have on daughters and studied the subject. The absence or presence of something good or bad still affects relationships and the quality of life. For example, a daughter or son raised without a father can be profoundly affected by the lack of a father.
This knowledge and the rewards of the fabulous relationship I have with my dad drive me to help others get a second chance. Usually, the “others” are estranged fathers who are striving to get more visitation or custody to improve the relationship they want with their children. I like to represent men who need help in convincing the court to give them more opportunities to love and guide their children.
Occasionally I do represent female clients that need legal protection for themselves and their children. These cases also create that strong desire to be a protector of the children and I work equally hard for such women. However, if a woman wants a lawyer to help her keep the children away from their father merely because she is vindictive or because she wants to punish him or not see him herself, my law office is not a good choice. The bigger picture is that in most cases, the children are better off if they can be with both parents.
