If you are planning to represent yourself in court then learning the secret ways top lawyers prepare for court will be crucial to your success.
It does not matter if you are preparing for a hearing in front of a judge or a full blown trial. Preparation is the single most important step in being successful in court.
Here are some of the secret ways top lawyers prepare for court: Continue reading →
In the practice of law it seems that almost all lawyers do is draft agreements in anticipation of a dispute or dealing with a client who has a dispute with another party. Typically, as a lawyer if a client has a dispute we tend to write some sort of threatening letter and if no satisfactory resolution is found then we commence court action. This adversarial approach to dispute resolution may not necessarily be the best approach for clients.
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Lawyers are paid to convince others. Whether they are convincing a judge that a defendant is guilty or they are defending their own client’s position, one thing is for certain: they must be persuasive. In fact, a lawyer’s success is directly correlated to their ability to convince. The more judges and jurors they are able to sway in their direction, the more cases they will win and the more money they will make. Continue reading →
So you may be thinking of getting a Divorce. If you are going down the road of getting a divorce there are a few things you may wish to do prior to commencing the divorce process, or at least before telling your spouse of your wish to get a divorce.
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How to divorce is an important question when you wish to terminate your marriage.
In answer to the question, how to divorce: in order to get a divorce you will need to obtain an order from a judge granting you the divorce.
You may now be wondering how to get this order from a judge granting you the divorce. In British Columbia you would file completed court forms with the Supreme Court of B.C. seeking an order for divorce. The preliminary court form filed with the Supreme Court is called a Notice of Family Claim.
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One of the first questions I am asked as a lawyer is how to file for divorce. The answer is, it depends. Are you filing for an Uncontested Divorce or Contested Divorce?
An Uncontested Divorce, often referred to as a “Bench Order Divorce” or “Desk Order Divorce,” is commenced when all outstanding issues arising out of the marriage have been resolved and the only order sought is that of divorce. This type of filing for divorce is preferred as it is not adversarial, faster and a lot cheaper. In order to go through this divorce process all outstanding issues resulting from the marriage such as, child guardianship, child support, spousal support, property division etc. have to be dealt with prior to filing for divorce.
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Ok, I am thinking of mediation, but how does it work? What is the mediation process? Well, usually the process begins with a one-on-one consultation with each disputant to discuss and assess the issues in dispute. Also, the mediator will try to get a better understanding of the dispute and the personalities involved in the dispute. In this preliminary consultation, the mediator may screen for violence or other potential power imbalances. This is especially true for the family mediation process.
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As my firm name is M.J. O’Nions Lawyer & Mediator, I am often asked the question: “What is a Mediator?” Well besides the answer “a mediator is someone who does mediation” it is important to first explain what mediation is.
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I am often asked questions about succession planning and the difficulties with the rigidness of the legislation governing Wills & Estates. Frankly, some of the legislation goes back to the 1800s and really has not changed much since then. It is about time our laws reflect modern society. Well finally a new Act is coming into force on March 31, 2014. The WESA is replacing the Wills Act, the Wills Variation Act, the Estate Administration Act, Probate Recognition Act and a portion of the Law & Equity Act. So what does that mean for you? Continue reading →
