Handling Complex Litigation Matters
As a full-service firm, we offer a broad range of legal services. Our Lawyers Stay on the Cutting-Edge of Legal Representation
Divorce/Family Law
The primary purpose of a divorce proceeding is to terminate marital status; establish custody and visitation; establish support; and divide the community assets and liabilities in an "equitable" fashion. The courts no longer consider "fault" in a divorce proceeding. That is, the judge makes no determination as to who is the bad spouse or who is the good spouse, for indeed for sound legal reasons they simply don't care. You have to remember that each hearing and the ultimate trial of your divorce is only one of many that the court will handle that same day. The decisions the court makes regarding the division of your property, assets, liabilities, etc., will affect you for the rest of your life, yet, the Judge may only spend as little as 20 minutes in rendering "an informed" decision.
Therefore, generally, it is much better to try to settle matters between you and your spouse (via your lawyer if need be), than it is for some stranger in a black robe, who does not know you, does not know your spouse, or your children, to make those decisions for you.
As your advocate, your attorney will do everything possible to obtain the very best results possible in your divorce. Please be advised that whenever you walk into a courtroom you run a risk. You run the risk you will do worse than if you had settled the case; you may do better. Unfortunately, there is no way to accurately predict the odds either way. If we lawyers could predict what would happen, we would be fortune tellers, not lawyers.
We hope you keep in mind all of these issues when considering settlement suggestions or proposals, both from your side to your spouse and from the other side to you. Even modest flexibility will be rewarded by stress reduction and lower attorney fees (and maybe even lower court costs). It might even make you feel better!
Bankruptcy
If you (or a family member) are ever involved in an accident (whether auto, a slip and fall, or even being injured as a result of a dangerous product), we feel that it will be helpful to you if you know in advance what will take place if you hire an attorney to represent your interests.
Unlike a doctor, the majority of an attorney's time and effort on behalf of his client is done outside the presence of the client. This gives some clients the impression that nothing is being done on their case, when in fact the attorney is working diligently to obtain a fair settlement for you. You should remember that you control settlement. In the majority of cases, the attorney can offer you advice based on a great deal of experience in evaluating cases and in seeing all of the alternatives from a perspective that will assist you in making an informed decision.
One final caution before proceeding -- sometimes clients are mislead by others regarding their legal rights to representation -- or even the need to have an attorney's assistance. Also, much misinformation abounds regarding personal injury cases and settlement of them. For this reason, if anyone advises you that you can better handle the case yourself (especially if that person works for the insurance company), act with caution before taking that advice. Seek a consultation from a competent injury lawyer.
Child custody
The area of custody (and visitation) is the most emotional, expensive, and time-consuming part of a divorce proceeding. To complicate matters, clients often are frustrated when the court fails to consider certain facts which they may feel are important (such as that the opposing spouse's step-cousin sells drugs, things which the law call “irrelevant” to the issues).
Needless to say, this is difficult. Generally the reason people get divorced is because they do not like their spouse, often because of prior difficulties in communication, sometimes even about the children. It is therefore difficult to expect clients to settle their problems regarding custody, when they are barely (or not at all) able to speak to each other. But if you want to minimize the risk, settle you must.
Certainly, there will be times when you will have no alternative but to go to trial. However, trial should always be treated as the “last resort.” The attorneys at Mathews Bergen & Grier are experienced in negotiating and trial work and can help you attain what is in the “best interest” for the children. Advice as well as advocacy are what we “sell”. We believe our product is of the highest quality and that you should or the most part accept advice on those subject where we have the most experience. Likewise, we will both seek and accept your recommendations and direction. All we ask is that you listen with an open mind to the information we can and will give you based on long experience and substantial legal training. We look forward to helping you in this most important area.
Personal Injuries
A person so deep in debt that he cannot pay his creditors tends to be desperate, and may depend upon a bankruptcy lawyer every bit as much as a criminal defendant would depend on a criminal lawyer.
A bankruptcy attorney needs to understand basic mathematics, clear writing and personal negotiation. This is so that his client understands what must be done, the creditors can accept what the debtor can do, terms between debtor and creditor are kept as civil as possible, and no mistakes can be made that would further endanger the debtor.
Corporate Services
Our corporate and securities practice consists primarily of representing clients in all of their corporate and securities matters, including transactional and SEC reporting and compliance work. We are engaged in the structuring, negotiation and documentation of a wide range of transactions, including public offerings and private placements of securities representing both issuers and underwriters, mergers and acquisitions, venture capital, international finance and other financing transactions. The firm also has in-depth experience in licensing and other matters relevant to technology companies.
Non-Litigation Job
Our team consist of non-litigation attorney also, dedicated to helping families deal with the problems of life, especially the passing of the torch from one generation to the next. I personally know what it is to lose a parent or spouse. I know I can help because I understand in both my heart and my brain. One of the worst things that can happen is to have one's most personal decisions made by outsiders, i.e. courts. We need courts only if we need family umpires. Absent that, we want to stay out of court, if at all possible! That is why we have drafted the most powerful documents we have seen to keep decisions out of court.