Meeting the needs of children whose parents are divorcing is legal priority number one for Martha C. Hall, partner at Hall Law Group, PC in Statesboro, GA, a firm with a concentration in family law. She knows it’s a tall order, but she won’t represent litigants at all who won’t put their children’s welfare at the forefront of the divorce process. Hall considers the children to be the marital estate’s most precious and valuable asset – and she intends to protect them.

“I look for clients who are going to put the children first and if I sense they are not on that path, or if the children are being used as pawns in the litigation process, I simply choose not to represent those folks,” Hall said.

She offers a variety of coaching materials for parents aimed at educating her clients about what is appropriate behavior and discussion topics in the presence of their children. Perhaps it is a fancy term for bad-mouthing the other parent – but Hall spends a fair amount of time teaching clients about “parental alienation” and the deleterious long-term effects it can have on a child’s well-being.
“I’ve learned through years of practice that some clients do not know they are doing that,” Hall said. “If you coach them, offer them literature and walk them through the different situations they may face, most of them realize which word choices and topics are not appropriate in the presence of the children.”

This is not to say that Hall doesn’t fight hard for her clients' other best interests – particularly the financial ones. As far as she is concerned, it’s not a challenge to separate the children’s issues from other aspects of the divorce.

“I treat it more like a business,” she said. “It is two partners trying to divvy up the assets in a fair and equitable way. I separate that from the child custody issues. It is possible to make sure your client gets what is due on the financial side but also to set them up to become a good co-parent on the child issues once the attorney and  the judge are no longer a part of their lives.”

For more information, visit www.hlg-pc.com