Insight on lawyer

[beenthere]

Back again!
Ex has new lawyer and I have been told that he is supposedly one of the best in London/St. Thomas area.
Was wondering if I can ask anyone who may have dealt with him from either perspective as client or on opposing side to PM me with your opinion on his approach to family law.
As posted previously my ex is very high conflict, narcissistic etc. just want to know what I am in for now that she has hired this guy ( also doing divorce #2 for her now as well). His name is Mark Shields.
Thanks for your time.
Cheers!

[beenthere]

Thanks oink.
Sorry, I forgot to mention that I did do a search on him in CanLII and found a few of cases. Also looked up some "rate your lawyer" reviews, in one case he was 5 out of 5, the other he was only 2.9. I was hoping to get a more personal evaluation, is he cut throat no matter what or is he the rare one who tries to be balanced. If he is the latter it would make sense the ex hired him as she thrives on conflict. Cheers!

[arabian]

Don't be alarmed by 'hearing' that your ex has one of the best lawyers in town. Sometimes that is a good thing, particularly if your ex is HC. A good lawyer will have highly honed client-management skills which might help you in the long run.

My ex has gone through several lawyers. One was reputed to be 'one of the best' but it certainly didn't help my ex. I believe she ended up dumping my ex in the end. Now my ex has a terrible lawyer (ambulance chaser) who has little experience in family law.

When someone describes a lawyer as 'one of the best' I'd ask them simply to qualify their statement. I am amused when I hear a lawyer described this way and when I question the person making the statement all they usually can say is that the lawyer in question a) works at a large firm, b) has been practicing law for over 30 yrs, or c) was successful in winning a case for a friend. None of those reasons make a lawyer a standout in my opinion.

beenthere I think it would be best to focus on your own lawyer and give little thought to your ex's lawyer. Some of these "great" lawyers are only good at stalling and running up bills.

[beenthere]

Thanks Arabian,
I still haven't hired a lawyer, did speak to duty council a while back which was pretty disheartening in many respects but the one nugget I gleaned was that ex is very much in contempt of CO due to not informing me about anything to do with D like she quit uni, moved home, got a job and now is starting at another school that I wasn't given any say in.... And I know contempt rarely goes anywhere in family law but for one brief second it felt good to hear that.
Ex is heading into divorce #2 so the info regarding this lawyer comes from the poor bugger who took my place yrs ago.
I'm still deciding if I should just self rep, now that D is an adult and won't speak to me at all I don't see the point in paying a lawyer to sort this out, for D & ex it's all about money. Just a matter of arithmetic at this point.
Cheers!

[mom2three]

Thanks Arabian,
I still haven't hired a lawyer, did speak to duty council a while back which was pretty disheartening in many respects but the one nugget I gleaned was that ex is very much in contempt of CO due to not informing me about anything to do with D like she quit uni, moved home, got a job and now is starting at another school that I wasn't given any say in.... And I know contempt rarely goes anywhere in family law but for one brief second it felt good to hear that.
Ex is heading into divorce #2 so the info regarding this lawyer comes from the poor bugger who took my place yrs ago.
I'm still deciding if I should just self rep, now that D is an adult and won't speak to me at all I don't see the point in paying a lawyer to sort this out, for D & ex it's all about money. Just a matter of arithmetic at this point.
Cheers!

You need to find yourself a lawyer and not worry about her lawyer.

I had to laugh when I read "wasn't given any say in.." because I think every parent with young adults goes through this. I would suspect that Mom didn't have any say either, that daughter landed there lol!

That being said, it is a matter of arithmetic. You will likely be responsible for part of her schooling fees (which always strikes me as odd because intact families are nor court ordered to pay for university/college fees). Whether you agree or not, whether you talk to her or not. But you do need a lawyer to sort it out if its high conflict!

[standing on the sidelines]

You need to find yourself a lawyer and not worry about her lawyer.

I had to laugh when I read "wasn't given any say in.." because I think every parent with young adults goes through this. I would suspect that Mom didn't have any say either, that daughter landed there lol!

That being said, it is a matter of arithmetic. You will likely be responsible for part of her schooling fees (which always strikes me as odd because intact families are nor court ordered to pay for university/college fees). Whether you agree or not, whether you talk to her or not. But you do need a lawyer to sort it out if its high conflict!

doesnt the fact that she was enrolled in school before but quit play any part in if he has to pay for schooling?? I would think that when she quit and got a job that was it.

[beenthere]

Thanks for the response mom2three,
I didn't go into lots of detail in this post regarding my situation, well covered in previous posts so didn't want to bore anyone, lol.
Short version: ex has been working to alienate D since she was young and has succeeded, the 2 of them make all decisions and if I dare voice an opinion I am accused of being controlling, bully etc.
I spent 3 years and a lot of money on a lawyer just to get access, waste of time in the end as no matter what I did it was turned into something negative by ex and D now believes all of it is true.
Am I a bad parent because I don't want to spend more money for legal fees when I feel the whole thing is hopeless - probably in most people's eyes, but at this point in my life I am tired of being lied to, disrespected, blamed and used as an ATM.
Cheers!

[beenthere]

doesnt the fact that she was enrolled in school before but quit play any part in if he has to pay for schooling?? I would think that when she quit and got a job that was it.

Thanks for your response,
I guess it would have mattered if they bothered to tell me she quit, only found out b/c ex put it on FB not realizing her security wasn't up to snuff and my spouse saw it. When I asked both D & ex if she was still in uni they both lied.
I tried to get FRO stopped b/c D not in school, ex writes back pretending she had informed me D is now planning to attend at a local college.
So I'm thinking this time off where I continue to pay CS while D is working will go against school costs, ex informs me her new lawyer says NO, it is reasonable that she have this time off waiting for next round of school so still eligible for CS, bet she never told him that they lied to me about it.
Big stinking mess!
Cheers!