Most of the lawyers who practice at the Solano Family Court are second rate old timers or new ones trying to start out.   There are a few honorable ones who really work for your money.  But most of the lawyers are lazy and just milking you for money.

You can really pick out the sorriest lawyers quickly because they are the ones that gossip in the halls about Judges and strategy.  They also swap stories about your misery to make themselves feel better.  They tend to show up to Court and wing it.  They tend to talk a lot but never complete documents.  (send me an email if you really want a recommendation but hopefully you’ll be smart enough to move forward without a lawyer.)

Below are various common types of lawyers who practice at Solano Family Court.

Used Car Salesman–Many lawyers will start out strong and then over time know practically nothing about your case.  They will start to wing it.   A confirmation is that the lawyer never writes up the minute orders but spends hours talking to the opposing lawyer by phone.   If you see this, you got a con artist lawyer who is trying to milk as many people as possible with the least amount of work.

I’m better than you–Some lawyers will turn around and tell parents its their fault when something goes wrong.  A confirmation is they will repeatedly use the phrase “it’s like I told you…..”  even though the story changes with time.  Its an ego thing.

I’m in love lawyer–this actually happened…a female lawyer who practiced at the Solano Family Court left because of love and left all of her clients stranded–no note,no message.  She got a slap on the wrist and moved to the South Bay working in the Corporate world.  She still posts her glowing resume online about her excellence in the Solano Family Court forgetting to mention how she screwed many parents and families.  (Of course the Solano Court ignored her gross negligence.)

Judge’s Pet Lawyer–you are in trouble if you got a lawyer who always wants to look good or reasonable in front the Judge despite your best interest.  There are a few of these floating around.  Its an ego thing.

I’m busy lawyer–usually this occurs after the first court hearing.   The lawyer starts to focus on new clients and starts to do things at his convenience.  Sometimes he will do things when the timing is late or not-relevant.  Confirmation–excuses excuses.  You are paying the lawyer but they take advantage of your dependence on them to make you serve them.  This is fairly common with second rate lawyers.

Dictionary lawyer–lawyer who plays word games with court orders and negotiations.  Confirmation–she goes back on her word because its not in writing.   These are usually young lawyers who are desperate for a win.  Just look for any newly minted lawyer and never accept anything that is not in writing–lying is part of her game plan.

Document game lawyer–lawyers who mail things at the last minute or forget to do things that are required.  Usually second rate lawyers that play dirty.

Overcharge lawyer–most of the lawyers out there.  For some reason they all believe they are entitle to $500 per hour or more.  Confirmation–they never have a billing statement or fabricate a nice round number that is exact.  Most lawyers will try to round up on you and will not be able to demonstrate how they spent your money.  They simply fabricate a bill.  These are usually the ones in court telling the Judge a sob story about how hard they worked and how the other party needs to pay them.   These are the easiest to pick out because their accounting records are non-existent save a nice round final number.  Never trust a lawyer about your bill–get regular in writing updates because many will tack on extra charges near the end.   Don’t let the “aw shucks” actor fool you–some lawyers are very good at pretending to be something they are not.

So hopefully you will never have to deal with a lawyer but if you do, the outcome will never be good.   Unfortunately, its worse than it needs to be at the Solano Courts because the Judges tolerate laziness and excuses from lawyers.   (I’ll link to a Napa County Web site later because its the only Court that may be worse–if you want to win in Napa get the best friend or sex partner of the Judge to represent you.)