Rhode Island Divorce Tips by Attorney Chris Pearsall

A Lawyer who Hates Lawyers? What is this RI Divorce Lawyer Really Saying?

Today, I am a Rhode Island lawyer focusing my practice on divorce and divorce coaching.  Looking back decades ago I remember another lawyer who had been practicing in another state for some 40+ years who said something that perplexed me.

* * * Remembering the Lawyer who Hated Lawyers! * * *

The lawyer was about as true, honorable, and generous a gentleman as I have ever met.  He had all the qualities I envisioned a good lawyer would have.  He truly cared about each of his clients.  He fought for each one within the bounds of the law, within his professional code of ethics, and with a high degree of morality. The lawyer knew that I greatly admired him as both a person and as a lawyer.

One extremely hot summer afternoon this lawyer returned to his office after losing a district court hearing.  He plopped himself down in the chair at the opposite end of the short conference room table I was sitting at in his office law library.  His secretary nervously brought him a lemonade and napkin then quickly skirted out of the room.  There was an endless silence.  

Finally, I spoke, 

Chris:  "I'm considering becoming a lawyer."

The lawyer lifted his head, wiped his brow with a napkin, grabbed a nearby law book and flung it across his law library breaking the law book's spine.

It was one of the first times I had ever seen this man so upset.

I was quiet until the lawyer spoke.

Lawyer:  I HATE LAWYERS!

This time the pause was endless yet I was just too puzzled not to speak.

Chris:  "I don't understand!?!  You ARE a lawyer."

The lawyer was quiet again, so I asked it as a question.

Chris:  "How can you hate lawyers when you ARE one? 

The lawyer waited quite awhile before speaking.

Lawyer:  Chris, if you're anything like me, you'll understand when you get there. 

The conversation ended.

* * * 20 Years Later We Agree * * *

I've been working in the legal field now for more than 20 years since that conversation.  

As a Rhode Island lawyer, I am bound by a Professional Code of Ethical Conduct among other things.  There are things that I shouldn't say or do and there are things that I can't say or do despite the right to Free Speech guaranteed to all of us by the United States Constitution.  The layperson would be amazed. 

* * * A Message for Roger * * *

For a point of reference only, the lawyer's name was Roger.

Hopefully he's still alive and hopefully he is in tune enough with today's "internet" that he reads this article.

First, to this great lawyer.

Roger, I was like you.  I understand!

* * * A Message for Readers * * *

Now, to my readers I offer this.

You may not understand this statement until you meet with me.

If you like lawyers, you probably won't like me.

With that said, I can tell you that as a Rhode Island Lawyer who has focused my practice exclusively in the area of divorce and family law, I cannot make your problems go away.  No lawyer can!  Yet some lawyers may tell you they can to get you as a client.

Lawyers can't make your problems go away because fundamentally they are your problems.  Only you can take responsibility for those challenges in your life.  Only you truly have the power to resolve those challenges by your decisions.

However, I can tell you that I can help you understand and get through your Rhode Island divorce or family law challenges by working with you either as your Coach or as your Representative.

* * *  Your Divorce Coaching Program * * *

Roger's words were invaluable.  Today, they are the powerful force motivating the continued growth of your Family Law Coaching program.  

I call it Your Program because it is designed specifically for you.  It is designed to teach you, train you, advise you, inform you, and save you time and money in the areas of divorce and family law.

As Your Coaching Program continues to evolve, it will continue to work faster for you, become more economical for you, and become more helpful for you.

Whatever you choose to believe, there is one thing you can know with certainty. I am one lawyer trying to make a difference for YOU with a new and innovative way of practice designed by hard work, my belief that you can do more than you believe you can at this moment, and your willingness to be open to something new that works. 

What can Your Coaching Program help you with?  Here is a brief list . . .

Rhode Island Divorces & Legal Separations, Rhode Island Child Support Establishment, Modifications, Collections and Terminations, Rhode Island Child Custody Matters and Child Custody Modifications, Rhode Island Petitions to Enforced Marital Settlement Agreements and Property Settlement Agreements, Preparing Pre-Nuptual Agreements and Ante-Nuptual Agreements in Rhode Island, RI Petitions to Move Out of State with Minor Children, Petitions to Establish Paternity in Rhode Island, Rhode Island Motions to Adjudge In Contempt and Defense of those Contempt Motions, Protection from Abuse Petitions and Defense Against Such Petitions, Rhode Island Motions and Petitions to Establish, Modify or Terminate Visitation, RI Common Law Divorces and their Defense, Rhode Island Legal Rights, Rhode Island Family Court Procedures, 2nd Opinions about your Attorney on Rhode Island Divorce Cases, Pro Se Representation (i.e. Representing Yourself Appropriately in Family Court), and many more . . . 

Look for the Testimonials Section about Your Coaching Program which is coming soon.  Feel Free to Call Me for a low-cost Coaching Session!

Attorney Christopher A. Pearsall - Phone: (401) 632-6976

Rhode Island Divorce Lawyer Brings Divorce Coaching to Rhode Island!

Divorce has taken on a new life in Rhode Island and Rhode Island Divorce Lawyer Christopher Pearsall is leading the charge.  As a divorce lawyer appearing daily before the Rhode Island family courts on a daily basis, Chris saw an all too familiar scenario.

Divorce and family law cases occur daily with people who represent themselves.  Why do they do it?  They simply don't have the money necessary to hire a family law lawyer to represent them before the Rhode Island Family Courts. 

This ends up being a circular problem in Rhode Island divorce courts both for the litigants and the court. 

Let me explain. 

You have the legal right to represent yourself before the Rhode Island Family Courts.  The Rhode Island Family Courts and their administrators have the right and the duty to manage the cases that come before the Rhode Island Family Courts in order to keep the court cases moving along as efficiently as possible.

Imagine you're Joe or Jane Citizen and that you want to represent yourself before the Rhode Island Family court.   You file a roughly worded Motion for Change of Placement to try to get placement of your daughter.  You figure out just enough to get by the court's filing formalities so you get the feeling you're half way there.

Then comes the sometimes disappointing, often humiliating blow. 

What is it?  It's the court date. 

It takes you less than ten minutes to figure out that representing yourself like this was a big mistake. 

Why?  

The family court judges in Rhode Island are under a lot of pressure to keep their cases moving and they have considerable discretion in handling those cases.  Frankly speaking, whether you are a person representing yourself, or a lawyer who doesn't know what he or she is doing, realistically the court isn't going to be too patient with you simple because you don't know how to exercise your rights or to represent your client. 

Some litigants who represent themselves, called "Pro Se" (pronounced, "pro say") and attorneys who have little clue how to practice in the Rhode Island family courts may find themselves chastised, rebuked or even humiliated by the judge for slowing down his or her calendar for the day.  The feelings on both sides of this predictament are understandable but hardly complimentary.  Some judges may even be try to force you to obtain a lawyer when you've done your best and it's just that you don't have the money.

The end result?  You're treated like a second class citizen because you simply can't afford a competent lawyer to represent your interests.  The same is true for new lawyers or lawyers unfamiliar with the family court process, but the lawyer's difficulty may be in explaining to the client why he or she is paying you if the judge is essentially saying you have no idea what you are doing.  How do you keep a client when the judge virtually comes out and calls you incompetent?  It's an interesting predictament. 

Meanwhile, you are still in the position of having to represent yourself because you just don't have the money.  The consequences could be anything from having your case continued time and time again, to having it dismissed entirely because you are told to put on your case and you don't know what to do, what protocol to follow, what procedural rules apply or what standard the judge must apply in making a decision under the law.

Over the years I've been a pro se litigant representing myself, a new lawyer chastised for something a judge considered improper, and a seasoned lawyer who learned what the judges are looking for and trying to avoid wasting the court's time.

As Rhode Island's most affordable full-time Rhode island Divorce lawyer I have been very proud to offer services to those people that most lawyers turned away because of their lack of substantial upfront funds.

I have been able to help only a small percentage of people in Rhode Island that I have wanted to help with their divorce and family law issues.

Why?

Mostly because as low as I've been able to reduce my overhead and pass along savings to clients, it hasn't been enough.  Peopl who don't have the money to hire even a low-cost lawyer need help in Rhode Island.

So the doors are closing to my divorce courtroom practice to open up a new and more exciting business that I plan to use to help both the Rhode Island Family Courts and those people who are looking to represent themselves.

Welcome to Rhode island Divorce Coaching, a service provided to teach Pro Se individuals how best to present their case to the court, what is the best approach to take, what important principles of law are involved and how to properly address the court so that your case has the best chance of being taking seriously and processed expeditiously.

It is my goal that these services with be a benefit to Rhode Islanders and New Divorce Practitioners by providing them with the fundamentals at a low cost by having a mentor to help them while reducing the court's perception of the Pro Se litigant as an individual who is uninformed and is going to frustrate the process as a whole.

If you can't afford a lawyer, a little divorce and family law coaching may be just what the doctor ordered.  It's affordable and it's designed to help you represent yourself and potentially reduce the court's anxiety as well as your own.

As Rhode Island's pioneer of Divorce Coaching you may find yourself skeptical.  A divorce coaching session lasts 1 hour and costs only $100 which is less than half of what attorneys of similar experience and skills get on an hourly basis. 

If you have a divorce or family law issue and you are thinking about representing yourself and you would ultimately like to get heard, you may want to get on the phone and call me.

No other lawyer in Rhode Island is offering this service so if you believe it may be beneficial to you or a friend or family member, bookmark this page now.  Divorce coaching is the next waive of the future for Rhode Island Divorce clients and I've brought it to Rhode Island early.  As its founder and pioneer I am happy to say that I already have several very satisfied clients.

As new as Divorce Coaching is, I have already been able  to coach several people who achieved results that I believe were better than the results  most likely could have obtained for them myself.

Get tremendously valuable coaching from a highly qualified professional Rhode Island Divorce lawyer at 65% less than the value of these services from lawyers with similar experience and skill.

All I ask is that you don't call me asking for free legal advice. We all need to do our part in this world but we all need to make a living too.  If your divorce or family law issue doesn't mean enough to you to come up with $100 for my time, skill and experience, then how can you expect me to take your issue seriously when its not worth you coming up with $100 for good solid legal help that usually costs $225.

Testimonials are coming soon.

Welcome to Rhode Island Divorce Coaching!

Authored By:

Christopher A. Pearsall, Attorney-at-Law

Call (401) 632-6976 to Schedule Your Rhode Island Divorce Coaching Session!

Rhode Island's Premiere Legal Divorce Coach / Low-Cost Divorce Coaching!!

Copyright 2009.  Christopher A. Pearsall, Esquire
A New Rhode Island Divorce Lawyer for a New Millenium!

*The Rhode Island Supreme Court licenses all attorneys in the general practice of law. Pearsall.net | AttorneyPearsall.com | Rhode Island Divorce Tips | ChristopherPearsall.com | GuaranteedWealth.com | Rhode Island Divorce Attorney | Rhode Island Divorce Lawyer | Chris Pearsall | Legal Scholar | Pearsall Law Associates | Rhode Island Divorce Attorneys | Rhode Island Divorce Lawyers

Rhode Island Divorce Lawyer Christopher Pearsall - Judge Laureen D'Ambra Article Removed!

On or about December 4, 2008, I received a letter from the General Counsel of the Rhode Island Supreme Court the letter reads as follows:

December 2, 2008

Via First Class Mail
Mr. Christopher Pearall
Attorney at Law
70 Dogwood Drive
Suite 304
West Warwick, RI  02893

Dear Attorney Pearsall:

        It has come to the attention of this Office that a potential violation of Rule 8.2(a) of the Supreme Court Rules of Professional Conduct may have occurred due to your posting of various disparaging, misleading, and false statements regarding a member of the Rhode Island Judiciary on your website:  http://www.attorneypearsall.com/2008/09/judgelaureendam.html as well as on http://www.links4women.com/articles/chris.htm .  Specifically, these entries appear to describe an incident that occurred in 2007 relating to your conduct as counsel before Associate Justice Laureen D'Ambra and they contain unfounded allegations of incompetence and impropriety against Justice D'Ambra as well as another judicial employee.

Rule 8.2(a) of the Rules of Professional Conduct provides that

A lawyer shall not make a statement that a lawyer knows to be false or with reckless disregard as to its truth or falsity concerning the qualifications or integrity of a judge, adjudicatory officer or public legal officer, or of a candidate for election or appointment to judicial or legal office.

        While I fully recognize that members of the public are free to express their disagreement with decisions made by the Court, attorneys also have a competing obligation to comply with the Rules of Professional Conduct.  Your recourse for any perceived unfair or inappropriate treatment by a judges is through an appeal on the merits, or by filing a complaint with the Commission on Judicial Tenure and Discipline.

        Accordingly, we would ask that you refrain from posting these statements and/or revise the content in accordance with Rule 8.2(a).  Should the comments remain on your website after December 31, 2008 this office may pursue an appropriate remedy through disciplinary counsel.

Sincerely,


Erika Leigh Kruse
General Counsel



        The following is my response to the General Counsel for the Rhode Island Supreme Court.

December 28, 2008

Erika Leigh Kruse, Esquire
General Counsel
Rhode Island Supreme Court
Frank Licht Judicial Complex
Providence, RI  02903

Dear Attorney Kruse:

         Regarding your December 2nd letter, I do not own or control the content at Links4Women.com, therefore I can do nothing about the content that appears there.

        I have had no intention of violating Rule 8.2(a) of the Professional Rules of Ethical Conduct, however I do believe I have the right to express myself within the bounds of the Professional Rules of Ethical Conduct. 

I will re-read the article at AttorneyPearsall.com and any other articles over which I may still have editorial control in light of my 1 ½ year investigation.

        However, it would be very helpful if you (or the unknown complainant) would identify the statements believed to be in violation of Rule 8.2(a).  This will allow me to address any issues quickly and with clarity.

    Thank you for your consideration in this matter.

Respectfully,




Christopher A. Pearsall
CAP/cp


Notwithstanding my response to General Counsel for the Rhode Island Supreme Court, I have become painfully aware of how things work in Rhode Island.

Therefore, after substantial consideration I have removed this article and any similar articles on my websites in favor of preserving my livelihood. 

My thanks go out to the unwavering support of my friends and family through this continuing ordeal.

Article Authored By:

  Christopher A. Pearsall, Esquire
Attorney-at-Law
70 Dogwood Drive, Suite 304
West Warwick, RI 02893

Call (401) 632-6976 Now for your low-cost consultation.
from
Rhode Island's Most Affordable Divorce & Family Law* Attorney

Copyright 2009.  Christopher A. Pearsall,
A New Rhode Island Divorce Lawyer for a New Millenium

*The Rhode Island Supreme Court licenses all attorneys in the general practice of law.

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Rhode Island Child Support: What is Earning Capacity?

In a Rhode Island family law proceeding, usually involving the establishment or modification of child support, you may hear the judge or an attorney state that perhaps one or the other of two parents need to have an earning capacity set.  Yet what is an "earning capacity" and what affect might it have on the child support at issue?

Earning capacity is generally raised when one or the other of two parents is alleged to "not be pulling their weight" so to speak when it comes to the amount of money they could or should be earning in order to support the minor child(ren). 

Typically the issue is addressed when one parent files a Motion to Set Earning Capacity for the other parent.  You see this motion more frequently where a father is making considerable money and he gets laid off from his company or gets taken out of work for reasons of TDI (Temporary Disability) and is not bringing in nearly as much as when he was working full-time.  You will also see it when the payer of the child support, usually the father, has a change of position or change of career and that change comes with a reduced income.

A Motion to Set an Earning Capacity is typically an evidentiary hearing which allows both parties to question witnesses under other and to enter into evidence any relevant and admissible documentation that has a bearing on the issue of the respondent's ability to earn income.

Regrettably this motion is somewhat insidious in character.  The objective of the moving party may be one of two tacts.  Usually the moving party wants to show that the respondent has previously made more money than he or she is currently making and therefore his or her earning capacity is the higher amount of money he or she previously made.  If the court were to buy this argument then the respondent may only be bringing in $488 per week in actual income but the court may find that the respondent's earning capacity is the $975 per week the respondent used to make through former employment.

As you can imagine this has a dramatic affect not only on the amount of child support that the court may order the respondent to pay but it also may render the respondent unable to survive if he complies with the child support order.  The respondent is then placed in an untenable position where he or she will end up in contempt of court simply because he or she paid minimal expenses to survive.

The purpose behind the Motion to Set an Earning Capacity seems to be to stop the malingering of men and women who work the system and do not properly support their children by avoiding work and essentially becoming deadbeats who prey on public programs not because they have to but because they choose to as a way of life.

Unfortunately, all too often the Motion to Set an Earning Capacity is used by many Rhode Island Family Law Attorneys as a method of squeezing more money out of good people who have, in fact, supported their children, but may have come upon rough times.  Attorneys know full well that without substantial documentation or witnesses presented on behalf of the respondent, that the decision of the court may come down to an issue of credibility between the movant and the respondent.  This becomes a sad state of affairs if the respondent answers truthfully and correctly and provides ample information by testimony to demonstrate that an earning capacity should not be set above what he or she is making but the judge believes either from appearances or demeanor the testimony of the movant which may well consist of lies.

You can consider "Earning Capacity" to be your ability to earn income at the current time, based upon your previous employment, trade skills and education in the current marketplace under current economic conditions.

If any of the foregoing article was confusing and you are faced with this motion, do not take it lightly.  You should contact a family law attorney and get legal advice to know the proper means of your defense for your situation.

In a nut shell, the establishment of an Earning Capacity for you means that you will be paying child support or perhaps temporary spousal support based upon an amount of money that you do not make and perhaps have no chance of making but which the court orders that you have the "ability" to make.

Authored by:

Christopher A. Pearsall, Esquire
PEARSALL LAW ASSOCIATES
571 Pontiac Avenue
Cranston, RI  02910
Phone:  (401) 354-2369

NOTE:  The postings on this website are NOT legal advice, DO NOT create an attorney/client relationship and are NOT a substitute for a detailed consultation with an attorney experienced in the state where you have your legal issue.  This site is presented for the convenience of the internet public.

* The Rhode Island Supreme Court licenses all lawyers in the general practice of law and has no procedure for recognition of specialty in any area of law.

Rhode Island Divorce Tips: Inconsistencies Part III

Perhaps one of the more frustrating things that occurs a bit more often than it should is an inconsistency with judges that can be identified as:

3.  Judges can render inconsistent decisions or provide inconsistent direction in a case not only when presented with the same fact pattern but even when presented with the same case!

As an attorney here in Rhode Island who has chosen, for good or for bad, to practice in the area of divorce and family law, this is perhaps the biggest inconsistency to address and/or explain to a client.

I've had the displeasure of being before several judges assigned to cases for my clients.  One month an issue is raised and the court will be wholly in favor of my client.  The next month, the opposing attorney will raise the issue again and the next moment the court will be chastising or scolding my client's conduct though it had already been discussed.

If you want a true challenge, try explaining to a client one month how things went well for his or her case and then in the next month how things took a complete turn around on the same issue.

In point of fact it is ridiculous and it makes it appear as though as the attorney for the client I have botched something up in a big way on an issue that may be very important to the client, when in fact, the Judge has simply been inconsistent in the way in which he manages his or her cases, be it through record keeping, or just taking notes.

However, you see it and whatever you call it, it is inconsistencies that there should be a remedy for and it does an injustice to our citizenry and those who come before our Rhode Island Family Court System.

Authored by:

Christopher A. Pearsall, Esquire
PEARSALL LAW ASSOCIATES
571 Pontiac Avenue
Cranston, RI  02910
Phone:  (401) 354-2369

NOTE:  The postings on this website are NOT legal advice, DO NOT create an attorney/client relationship and are NOT a substitute for a detailed consultation with an attorney experienced in the state where you have your legal issue.  This site is presented for the convenience of the internet public.

* The Rhode Island Supreme Court licenses all lawyers in the general practice of law and has no procedure for recognition of specialty in any area of law.