Initial consult

● Meet with client to set and manage expectations for the case
○ Discuss if they have an ongoing case already and ask for those materials
○ Explain that the process is very slow
■ May not make sense to the defendant because it is a difficult time for
them
● Send them an email are reviewing
○ Discuss fee agreement and explain terms so they are aware of everything they
will be charged for
■ Lawyers have a rep that they want money so no charge some things
and clearly explain
■ “An evergreen retainer is an agreement where the client pays a fee into
a separate trust account, in which the lawyer invoices against once
services are provided”
■ Billing increments
● .1= 1-6 min
● Quick email would be a no charge
● Work typically take their work home with them ex phone number
● Get background info, ask questions that are needed
● Cost-benefit analysis of what assets to fight over

● Separating a marriage
○ Divorce
■ Have to file all necessary affidavits (written statements) income and
expenses
■ Restraining order, cannot cancel anything or close accounts
○ Dissolution
■ Agree on every single thing (division of assets and liabilities, child
support, etc)
■ No true financial disclosure, do not see what other party has
■ Still need affidavit (4 if children involved)
● Income, property, parenting proceeding, health insurance
● Make sure filled out and notarized
● Separation agreement document, divide up all assets and
liabilities and with children a shared parenting plan (or
designate a legal custodian)
● Quick claim deeds need to be done at final hearing to not chase
people down after, need legal description of property vin
number of car
● Designate who is in charge of costs for transfer of retirement
accounts
○ Difficult to have done before a final hearing
● If getting divorced in middle of year, designate taxes
○ Legal separation
■ Still legally married
■ Assets and liabilities are separated and have a schedule for children
 ■ Why? Personal reasons
■ Make clear cannot marry anyone else
■ No jurisdiction time required
● Defacto date: date when separated
○ duration of marriage is day of marriage to day of divorce finalizations
○ purpose of asset separation
● LGBTQ and marriage equality may be different dates
● Magistrates and judges have a big role in these cases
○ Know how they feel about certain issues to help prepare clients
○ Can ask for an issue to only be in front of judge if believe they will be more
sympathetic
○ Judges are elected officials
■ Can affect their rulings
○ Magistrates are appointed by judges
○ Parents know children better than anyone, magistrates rule off affidavits and
facts so the more decisions the parents make, the less the magistrates have to
decide for them
● Temporary order hearing
○ Addresses issues before divorce is final
○ Takes a long time- weeks/months
○ Need a lot of information and really know what is going on
○ Can be objected, each judge handles objections differently
○ Arrearage: an amount of money that should have been paid earlier
■ Use this as leverage to say let’s agree now to lessen arrearage
○ Purpose: separate party and maintain status quo and sets for rest of
case(existing state of affairs) and move on
■ Create a budget for both people so they can still have the life style they
had and pay bills
○ If any issues related to custody, court may hires a guardian ad litem (represents
best interest of children), if asks for one the court shall appoint (extra expense,
another attorney on case)
● Motion to enforce
○ Making a party follow through if they didn’t with terms
● Divorce process
○ Supreme Court website has the local rules and every form you would need for
each county in writable pdf form, look at those and personalize for use
○ Franklin county has a website as well
○ Franklin county law library has word versions
○ Go through the issue that the other party thinks will be brought up by their
spouse
■ Get these ready
● People do like like legal terminology for grounds for divorce
■ Statute 3105
■ No fault state so do not need grounds for divorce
● Both people agree they are incompatible
 ● If someone argues they are not incompatible (they want a
delay)
○ Now need one of the other grounds (besides
incompatibility but hopes that is what court uses for a
more gentle divorce)
■ Legal terms can be offense ex, gross neglect duty,
habitual drunkenness
● Takes about a week (1-4 days but give it time) to file to get a service packet back
● Franklin county requires certain document for any initial divorce filing
○ Confidential discolored of personal identifies, 591 notice, certificate of
assignment, process server’s standing order
● Domestic e filing people will tell you what you’re missing and will walk you through
the process if you call them
● Clerk’s office will come to your office and teach your staff how to e file
○ No charge
● Bailiffs and court officers in Franklin county are amazing and if are willing to help take
it
● Discovery process
○ When get counsel, remind them discovery was served
○ Do not need to file discovery, if want court to be aware file notice of discovery
○ Judges file their notes
■ Good resource
■ Do not get a notice so make sure to check
■ “Case notes”
○ Look ahead for case and schedule depositions and subpoenas
○ Interrogatory: list of questions one party sends to another in discovery
● Guardian ad litem report
○ Court used to follow their recommendation
○ Has become more common to disagree so know how judge tends to rule
● Status conference
○ Very helpful, can always ask, ask if clients have to attend
● Shared parenting does not mean 50/50 time, just working to make decision
○ can have sole custody but you make decisions and equal parenting time
■ Sometimes someone wants title so helps settle case
● Child support worksheet
○ If combined income over $150000 will order it
● Franklin county requires that in a divorce case with children the parents are required
to take a parenting class (online or in person) before divorce is final
Temporary Orders
● “Temporary, or interim orders, are put in place to fix the rights and obligations of the
divorcing couple before their divorce is finalized”
○ Gives stability, makes sure bills get paid, custody arraignment and time
scheduled , child support, potential spousal support and attorney fees
○ Do not deal with personal property or allocation of retirement
○ Not personal stuff like cheating and how they met
○ Do not include statements from a child
■ Motion to strike (rarely denied)
○ If disagree, each party filed a temporary order and the judge decides
● File motion in affidavit
● 30 days is first hearing after filing and first relief
○ Hard because clients want relief as fast as possible
● Tell clients to bring most recent tax return, health insurance premiums (with kids to
calculate child support), mortgage balance and similar documents at first meeting
● Affidavit
○ “An affidavit is a sworn statement a person makes before a notary or officer of
the court outside of the court asserting that certain facts are true to the best of
that person’s knowledge”.
○ Acts as a written testimony
○ Do not let client write their own
■ Don’t risk the magistrate missing something because they trying to
make sense of it
■ Don’t ruin your credibility
● If anything let them write it and then you can rewrite it
○ Follow magistrates order
■ Tell you everyone you want to know and include in it
○ Max 10 pages
■ Make it easy for the judge give them exactly what they need
○ Back up with exhibits to help the courts, no he said she said
■ Ex. If you give the amount of credit cards out you attach statements
with the credit card bills
■ Builds credibility, but not too many
○ Character affidavit
■ Does not help, where a person writes about someone else. Exception
may be if unexpected example mom’s mom wants to write one for dad
or if there is a professional/expert on the case.
● Do not give client guaranteed promises, it is unpredictable
● Be prepared to give the magistrate a summary of what the parties have been doing
the last year
○ Status quo: the existing state of affairs, the way things are.
○ Court is trying to keep the status quo
■ If this is what you’ve doing for a long period of time and it has been
working, court will not butt in
● Share documents with opposing counsel to make sure numbers match
● Ohio is a no fault state
 ○ Incompatibility, which means you and your spouse no longer get along, is the
no-fault basis for divorce in Ohio.
● If financial issues are more complex, hire a forensic accountant to go through
documentation to write a affidavit to attach to temporary order
● Temporary orders are filed to the court, the court decides whether they will grant the
temporary order
○ Temporary order hearing
○ Backdating: make things effective as of date of divorce filing, if there was a gap
between filing divorce and temporary order hearing
■ Get together with other side and discuss to be on the same page
■ Ask in affidavit and specify date you want, specify what date you filed
divorce
● Want to be reimbursed or get proper credit
● Make payments in traceable format to prove efforts, don’t use
cash (unless with recipient)
● Obligor: who has to pay
● Pro se: client represents themselves (no attorney)
● Rule 75: motion to file if strongly disagree with magistrates temporary order
■ Or if new evidence in discovery process
■ Know magistrates procedure
● Typically a oral hearing (10 minutes)
● Different counties have different procedures with temporary
orders
● Make sure language preserves arrearage
○ “an amount of money that is owed and should have been paid earlier”
● Do not file affidavit with paperwork when you first file for your divorce
○ Gives opposing counsel the template for your argument and know exactly
what to disprove
○ With electronic filing be aware if opposing can see your affidavit
● Magistrate has 4-5 temporary orders hearing and 4-8 others every morning
● Paper work off court officers desk, clients do not come with attorneys to first hearing
with magistrate in his office
○ Cannot give them that much time
○ Attorneys are not ready
● Cases take so long to wear them out
● Report expense affidavit carefully or else magistrate will go in and rule their self
○ Do not file more expenses than income especially without credit card debt
● Temporary orders- very limited
● Joke that both should leave mad to have the right decision, shows were not one sided
● Temporary order hearing:
○ No actual hearing
■ Client will not see magistrate
● Make sure they understand the process
○ Both sides come down and talk, try to work out what you can
○ Then talk to magistrate
○ Try to resolve before affidavit
 ○ Magistrate can tell you what they will do with the information
● Final hearing is first time client will see magistrate or talk to court
○ Hard for them and need to be prepared because they still have a role in the
case
● Clients know themselves better than the judge
● Don’t argue your spouse is a horrible person when you’re the one who still married
them and even had kids with them because then they question your decisions too
● Summarize at the end
○ This is what we want
● Mediation
○ Mediation office
○ To keep pro se on equal footing will order mediation
○ Free
○ Almost always refer it

Pre-trials
● Judge Brown and Tom Sexton
● The way you put yourself out there is very important
○ Be on time
■ If must be late, contact court
○ Build credibility, in the case of an emergency will get favors
○ Build your practice by word of mouth
○ Show you care, will you make the extra effort
○ Stand when judge enters
● Pretrial purpose
○ judge sees it is as the opportunity to introduce himself to the clients and state
his expectations and get them comfortable with the court and process
○ First impression with the bench and client
○ Time to organize thoughts and case
○ Discuss next steps
● Be kind and courteous to bailiffs (gatekeeper), Court officers, clerks, can help you
● Get clients ready
○ They will have a lot of questions such as what to wear and if they have to speak
● Court and attorneys share the same goal, move things forward
● Involve clients in pre trial statements
○ Another first impression
○ States disagreements
● Presentation
○ When speaking to court stand up
○ Look professional (make your clients look professional too)
○ Look at judge
■ This is the person you have to convince
■ Do not argue with opposing counsel or look at them
○ Get to the point
○ Don’t get lazy if you’ve been doing this awhile, still do these things
● Get in the habit of reviewing your notes from your pre trial and sit down and go
through what came out of it so you know what to work on and plan what you need to
do and when you need to do it
○ Follow up with your client and make sure they know what just happened too
● Remember that judges notes are available and helpful
● Don’t create problems, show that you can solve them
○ Offer solutions to the judge, find middle ground
■ If you want to prove to your client, suggest something you know Court
will deny and client will see
● Client control
● Don’t use never and always, do not exaggerate
● Do not say things you cannot back in pre trial
● Domestic law is the only area in law where there is no black and white, no absolutes.
Need credibility
● Guardian ad litem can refute things you claimed without backing
● No such thing as a bad pre trial
○ Learning
○ Gives information
● Discovery issue
○ Be polite with opposing side, do not file motion to compel (orders them to take
action)
■ Builds relationship and how you present yourself
● Make sure you are getting paid
○ But do not leave 10 days before trial (will make you look bad to judge)
○ There is a cut off date to withdraw from from a case
○ Set clients a deadline
○ Motion to withdraw
● Don’t be scared of the court for legitimate questions and concerns
○ The court is a resource
■ Be open with them and they will be open with you
● Settlement conference (meeting with judge)