How to Research – Opposing Counsel

Step 1 – Research your Judge – Read the other page

Step 2 – Research Opposing Counsel

Learn Opposing Counsel’s Playbook

Get a collection of their cases

To adequately research opposing counsel, you need to read the docket filings of cases they have been involved in. The docket is the record of everything that’s been filed in a case. The Complaint, or the Petition for Dissolution, in a divorce, is docket-1, the next thing filed is 2, and so on.

Getting a list of cases that opposing counsel has been involved in, can be either an easy task, or a pain in the butt. Start by calling the county clerk of your court, and ask if they can provide a list of cases opposing counsel has been involved in by their name or bar number. They might, or might not.

If they can’t, then you will have to search for cases they’ve probably taken to the Appellate level, and work backwards from there. As a tip, an internet search for your opposing counsel’s name and “v.” usually helps return case names they were involved in. If that doesn’t work, then you will need to be more – inventive… Regardless you need a list of case names and numbers. Do the same thing for the adjacent counties.

Then, go to the court-house clerk’s office and begin reading the docket filings for those cases. Print copies of really egregious examples of crap opposing counsel does, but another tip is to use your phone to take some pictures of the screen. The goal is to read, read, read, everything you can get your hands on from cases they’ve been involved in.

Troubling things you might see.

• Docket Filings in the hundreds of filings.
  • That’s someone who aggressively overlitigates the issues to create attorney fee billing.
  • There are only 2, or 3 legal issues 1) A Parenting Plan in the best interests of the children, 2) Equitable distribution of the marital assets. And maybe, there might be a third issue but probably not.

• Other Attorneys Complaint that Opposing Counsel Lies.
  • Attorney’s are not allowed to lie, there are at least three ethical rules prohibiting lying, RPC 3.1., RPC 3.3, RPC 4.1, and RPC 8.4. So if your research shows that other attorney’s consistantly complain that your opposing attorney lies in her pleadings.

• Discovery Abuse
  • Asking for documents that the litigant doesn’t have – refusing to recognize when they state they don’t have the documents.
  • Setting discovery conferences to abuse.
  • Witness Interference and Intimidation.
• Stacking the Deck
  • If opposing counsel is suggesting people, you have to question why they are suggesting them. And you have to research them. Generally speaking, if you think opposing counsel is unethical, anybody they suggest as a third-party to provide any services at all to your family is a bad choice. If opposing counsel likes someone, think of that as the kiss of death…
  • Remember it’s about converting the wealth of the family to the private assets of the attorney…
  • It’s not about the issues of justice, it’s about creating conflict, in order to generate the attorney’s fees, in order to line their pockets with the wealth of the family. It’s a Corruption of Collusion.
  • They’ve worked with each other so long and so closely, they don’t even realize that they’ve become corrupt.
• Stonewalling
  • Creates conflict, it’s unethical, attempt to resolve the issue on something other than it’s merits.
• Professional Evaluations intended to create more conflict
• Evaluations that aren’t equal.  
  • Make the parents take different kinds of evaluations – creates more conflict and it doesn’t provide balanced baselines.
• Psychological Evaluations to only one parent.
  • If one parent is requesting the other parent have a mental-health issue, it’s probably that parent that actually has the mental-health issue.
• Restraining Order Abuse
• Judge’s don’t want to deal with important family law issues, issues that can have serious long-term effects on the family.