Northern VA Pit-bull lawyer - recommendation sought (house, living)

[mshorey]

We are looking for sound recommendations for a well regarded pit-bull lawyer who deals with child custody cases. My husband is working to sort through the morass to obtain his 11 year old daughter full time (from a former joint custody arrangement).

The current living environment in her other house is not well for her emotionally/mentally and we need a lawyer who is willing to take charge to make a long term improvement for her. Preferances would be for a lawyer who has worked in Loudoun county previously and has a successful case-winning record.

[azb]

I am now an attorney for a federal agency, and had 20-plus years as a litigator at a national AMLAW 100 law firm. I don't know enough about the family law bar in Northern Virginia to make a specific recommendation, but I do want to change your focus on what you should look for in an attorney. In my experience, "pit bull" attorneys--which many potential clients seem to think they want and need--is absolutely the worst choice. This is particularly true for child custody matters in which judges, not juries, make the decision. Legal communities are small, and chances are that your "pit bull" attorney will have developed a bad reputation among the bar--including a bad reputation among the judges (all of whom are former attorneys) who will decide the case.

Look instead for a well educated, well-connected and experienced attorney who wil have credibility among the judges that you will appear before. Ask: are you active in the local bar? Are you on the faculty of local continuining education programs? How many child custody cases have you handled? How do you approach thee cases? What results do you achieve.

If you find an active member of the bar who teaches his or her area of practice, who focuses on developing a credible factual and expert case case fr custody, you have a good candidate. If you find someone who brags about how "tough" and "aggressive" they are, run for the door.