“Complete honesty is not the same thing as full disclosure”
– Ron Brackin
Let me be crystal clear here – when I talk about disclosure in this post, I am NOT talking about financial disclosure. There is nothing to discuss when it comes to financial disclosure in family law – it has to be made, it has to be honest, it has to be complete. Full stop.
The disclosure topic for this post is about whether you should disclose to your partner, their lawyer, the court, the mediator, or anyone else involved in your family law matter that you have hired a lawyer on a limited scope or legal coaching basis.
The only definitive answer I have is that if your partner, their lawyer, a judge or a mediator asks you whether you are getting legal help, be honest. The courts and other lawyers are generally only too happy to know that a self-represented person is getting legal assistance.
Here are some questions to consider in deciding whether you should volunteer the fact that you are getting legal assistance:
Will it help move your matter forward?
Is there a strategic reason to either disclose or not disclose?
Will it give your presentation more credibility?
Check back next week, ‘E’ is for …