My lawyer is friends with his lawyer?

[MissLotus]

Today I went to retain my lawyer - well she actually just gave me the retainer agreement to look over, so it's not official yet. While I was there I mentioned who my ex's lawyer is, and she said, "Oh, he's a friend of mine." Now I'm not sure what to think. Stop me if I'm over-analyzing, but it could work two ways: She could convince her "friend" that my ex is an idiot and that could work in my favor. Or it could happen the other way around! My fear is that if they're "friends" maybe she won't be as tough as she needs to be. Has anyone run across this situation?

Thanks for any help,

[BelovedK]

From what I understand, this is a common thing...the lawyers also know the Judges, sometimes socially. My friend has a dad who used to be a Judge and he said that alot of the cases were worked out before they even hit the courtroom :shrug

[Jilian]

I haven't been in that type of situation. I'm not sure how I'd feel about it. I think most lawyers who work in the same area "know of each other" to some extent. It might be a good thing that they are friends, maybe they will play nicely with each other. I don't think they are allowed to discuss your case with each other on their own time. I think that violates client confidentiallity. If it really makes you feel uncomfortable you could switch. You could also mention your concern to your potential lawyer and ask if and how their "friendship" will impact your case.

[mammastar2]

That's pretty normal. It's probably actually a little more worrisome if one of the lawyers has no friends among the other lawyers in town...

[boobybunny]

Definitely a good thing. My first attorney had quite the adversarial relationship with my X's attorney. We got nothing done but arguing. I fired her, went with an attorney that was more interesting in getting something done than fighting about stupid stuff.


BTW, I ended up with custody, a high dollar amount of child support and pretty much everything I wanted. All because Brendan was willing and able to work with my X's attorney.

[annarbor931]

I think it is pretty common for laywers and judges to know each other. I would only feel uncomfortable if my ex had a personal relationship with the judge handling my case. Otherwise, I think it is just the way of the world. In my area (county), which is fairly large, my attorney knew my caseworker and the judge fairly well. My ex did not have an attorney and did not appear in court, so the case went my way anyway.

[pranamama]

I think it could be a good thing if you want to save time and money. :)

[Dragonfly]

It's perfectly normal. It seems that everyone around here knows each other and many are friends, even in this very big place. I wouldn't necessarily expect it to change anything one way or another. Still, it's good to remain aware and analyze your attorney's representation of you - but that goes without saying regardless of whether or not s/he is friends with opposing counsel. :)

[teachermom]

my lawyer was friends with his lawyer too. it worked out well. once my lawyer even let it slip that his lawyer was sick of xh's shit too. :lol