It is not unusual for a litigant to seek to change attorneys during divorce litigation. Procedurally, it is a fairly simple task to accomplish. A new attorney is retained by a litigant and then some form of a substitution of attorney is filed with the court. The new attorney can then enter an appearance on behalf of the litigant. But in many cases that is not the end of the story. There are times when clients change their attorney multiple times or the adversary attempts to use changes of attorney against the litigant in a negative or derogatory fashion. Why does this happen and what can be done?

Many divorce cases are straightforward. Parties find a way to divide assets and share parenting of children in an agreeable way. Only about 2%-5% go to trial. Of the small percentage of cases that do not resolve amicably, a high percentage of those cases involve issues of domestic abuse. Where there is domestic violence (DV) there are frequently allegations of mistreatment of children. Reputable research indicates that there is a causal connection between spouse abuse and child abuse.

Trust between the attorney and litigant is a crucial part of a divorce proceeding that involves domestic violence. Domestic violence cases are more labor intensive and require special knowledge to properly litigate. As a result, a domestic violence victim may not feel properly supported or understood and the attorney may not present the case well to the court. In fact, it's important to people who represent victims of domestic violence actions to understand that the case can mimic criminal behavior. This is true whether or not criminal action is taken. The victim needs similar identical attention. Many DV cases have an adjacent crime. This needs to be recognized by family lawyers even where that is not being criminally prosecuted.