Aggressive versus Effective - Which Trial Attorney is Right for You

If you are looking for a family attorney, or any trial attorney, that is aggressive in the courtroom, there are a myriad of attorneys out there that will say that they are.  This does not mean they are effective in the courtroom.  If your circumstances need an aggressive trial attorney, what should you look for?  There are a myriad of attorneys that say they are "aggressive."  But what does that mean?  It is not difficult to be aggressive just for the sake of being aggressive.  And "aggressive" can be an effective strategy.  An "aggressive" strategy is just that, a strategy.  You should look at the trial process as a marathon, not a sprint.  And, the ultimate goal of any strategy is to win the Court's judgment because each and every case always has the chance of winding up at trial.  In order to win the Court's judgment, you have to win credibility from the Court.  To do so, an "aggressive" strategy must be utilized with planning and precision.  For example, race car drivers do not simply keep the vehicle at maximum speed the entire race.  Running backs do not simply run at full speed the entire game.  There must be strategy.  There are times when it is best to delay, times it is best to slow down, times to look for holes, times to decide when it's good to pass, etc..  An "aggressive" strategy is no different.  Simply being disagreeable, filing motions for the sake of wearing the other side down, and incurring costs for the sake of incurring costs amounts ultimately to what I call "chainsaw surgery."  It's ugly, if it goes on for too long it is not only ineffective but harmful, and it can quickly irreparably injure or kill anyone employing it.  Why?  Because repeatedly being in front of a family court judge and losing motion after motion loses the court's credibility.  Judges have very good memories and as cases develop and get to trial, they remember if a party has been before them and whether that party has been reasonable, has "cried wolf", or has been on a mission to win the war by attrition.  Everything in the case plays into the credibility the court assigns to each party at the end of the case.  "Aggressive" can be an effective strategy, and it can be a very good strategy, but it like any other strategy must be applied with precision.  The party that wins the court's credibility is far more likely to win the court's judgment.  To do so, an attorney must be effective, not just aggressive.