Lieutenant Robinson, U.S. Navy Flight Instructor, 1993

All Rights Reserved. Copyright 1999 by Ronald Robinson.

Divorce as Disaster Philosophy

    I don't know anyone who grew up wanting to be a divorce lawyer.  So why would a Navy pilot change careers and become a divorce lawyer? Why would anyone become a divorce lawyer? It's a common question, so let me address it.

    One thing is certain for me, it wasn't planned.  My path to divorce and family law began with a desire to leave active military service, go to law school, and launch my own private law practice.  When I started my law practice in 1999 I handled a wide variety of cases.  Within a few years I discovered that I had a special talent and fondness for family law problems.  I believe part of that talent stems from my personal characteristics (thick skin, brutally honest, a desire to help people, and an ability to handle high levels of emotion and conflict) and part from personal experiences with my own extended family and their family law problems.  Before I knew it, most of my caseload was divorce and family law.  Well, talent is one thing, but I actually love my profession.  How did I come to embrace and actually love my job?  In part, it's because I don't really see myself as a "divorce lawyer."  Allow me to explain.

    I don't know anyone who got married but hoped for a divorce.  Unfortunately, approximately half of all marriages end in divorce.  Divorce is a fact of life.  Divorce is also destructive and costly in many, many ways, especially if children are involved.  In short, divorce is a disaster.  And it's a disaster whether you're "at fault" or an "innocent spouse."  I don't leap out of bed in the morning to help a person get divorced.  I leap out of bed in the morning to help a person get through a disaster, whether they caused it or not.  I view myself as a disaster expert.  And that's how I grew to love my profession and why I approach my job with passion and purpose.  The disaster is divorce and I'm the disaster relief expert.

    The way your divorce disaster is handled, managed or conducted makes a difference. Would you like your disaster to be managed like Hurricane Katrina, or in a more aggressive, effective and professional manner?  Depending upon your personal circumstances and how your case is handled, your divorce experience could end up like an earthquake (shakes the foundations of your existence), a hurricane (big, destructive and costly, but mostly predictable), a missed tornado (fast and unpredictable, but you were spared most of the destruction and cost), a heart attack survived (painful, costly, but you recover) . . . you get the point.

    So that's my philosophy and how I approach my job.  In short, I love helping people, I love being a divorce disaster expert, and I love my clients.

Sincerely,

Ronald Robinson