What Are Your Win-Loss Stats?

That question is the wrong one, as Dick Price points out in What are My Chances of Winning? on his Divorce and Family Law in Tarrant County, Texas blog:

Instead of pressing the attorney to give a prediction of success, a more productive conversation would be about these issues:

* What is my real goal? Sometimes the real goal is to get a better visitation schedule or reduction in child support even though someone starts off asking for custody. Some reflection by you and the attorney about this issue can lead to the development of a plan that really relates to what's important to you.
* Is it possible to achieve? If the goal is paying no child support, it may not be possible in one set of facts while it may be likely under a different scenario. Likewise a 50-50 arrangement of time with the children may be feasible if the parties work together well and live pretty close together. On the other hand, if the parents constantly fight (even post divorce) or if they live a considerable distance apart, for example, it is unlikely that the parents can share equal time with the children.
* What can I do to improve my chances of attaining my goal? Doing some brainstorming for steps to take and then implementing the ideas can really improve your chances of success. If you are really committed to success and work in constructive ways, you will have a better chance of prevailing. (Of course, I can't tell you how likely it is that you will succeed.)

What should remember from all this? First, forget about calculating the odds of success for you case. Second, help yourself by following the above three steps. Good luck!

I am far more compressed in my responses to this question. I explain that unlike my business lawsuits or baseball, wins in family law cases are far less clear-cut. Not all problems are solved by the court's judgment. Mr. Price nails it when he writes about goals. Know what goals you want and which ones the courts can give you.