Is There Emotional Justice in Divorce?

Divorce has a well-deserved reputation for causing clients to enter a crazy time – when logic, rational thought and common sense are sacrificed at the altar of staying in the “story” – the bitterness and resentment of what happened in the past. This divorce story weaves its emotional threads through every interaction between attorney and client.

• “Why is this happening to me?” is a frequently asked question in divorce –
• Another one is “When am I going to get the emotion justice that I deserve?”
• Is Emotional Justice Part of the Legal Process?
• Why do people try to get Emotional Justice from the legal process?
• Where does emotional justice come from if not the Legal Process?

We will explore these questions and more in this session.

And pose some better questions to get at the heart of this matter.

No amount of logic, rationality, cajoling or coercion can move a client from the “story” to the “business” end of the divorce spectrum, particularly when the client feels overwhelmed by both the reality of divorce and the frustrating process of it.

Here are some of the issues these clients might be dealing with:

• They are locked into one option and refuse to consider other possible solutions.
• They refuse to examine any other perspective but their own.
• They are either overly optimistic or overly pessimistic about how things will turn out for them after divorce and such beliefs determine their approach to a settlement.
• They seek relief from their highly emotional state and are willing to pay any price for that relief – by either throwing in the towel or extracting several pounds of flesh from their spouse.
• They lose sight of what is best for the children, using them as pawns in the game instead of being a parent most concerned about their children’s welfare.