Opposing Counsel or Satan? How to Deal With an OPC from Hell

Practicing family law is quite the balancing act. We vacillate between counselor, advisor and sometimes therapist. It's not easy dealing with the emotionalism of the client while maintaining your professional decorum. Inevitably, you will encounter that opposing counsel straight out of Hell. Everything is a fight. Their demeanor is disrespectful or downright rude. Before you can respond to one motion, they fire off another in an attempt to make you look incompetent. Or they're just unresponsive no matter how many attempts are made via email or phone frustrating you to no end. We've all been there. But how do we deal with them without compromising our ethics and our client's case? This article gives practical tips on how to stay sane while dealing with Beelzebub himself.

This article was submitted by Trina Saunders, Attorney at Law. If you would like to submit content or write an article for the Family Law Section, please email Kara Sikorski at ksikorski@indybar.org.

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