Frank A. Louis
Divorce Law - Toms River, NJ

Divorce law is constantly evolving - and as a result it is fundamentally more complex than when I started. The skills we need to do our jobs properly are much broader - we need to be authorities on such things as taxation, valuation, even real estate partnerships. All that said, the law isn't rigid. It permits a creative lawyer to structure an agreement that's flexible and workable. In fact, that is the greatest challenge.

Most of us are honest and decent lawyers - and for good reason. It doesn't take long to get a bad reputation. And the fact is, good lawyers matter. Get two good lawyers into a room, and it's the best way to resolve a case. Bad lawyers don't help to resolve cases; rather, they frequently make the cases more difficult and expensive. In divorce law, it is almost always in everyone's interest to resolve their disputes. I haven't gone to trial with a case in more than three years. The word "win" doesn't really apply to divorce law - in fact, the client who says 'I want to win' can be the worst client in the world. Post-divorce, men economically tend to do better than women. Since New Jersey is not a common property state, there is a greater need to analyze the economic fairness of a divorce and how assets are to be divided. To an increasing degree, the courts have more post-divorce litigation - approximately 50% percent of motions stem from old cases. Thus, there is no finality - except with a carefully crafted agreement. The law is constantly changing -- it's people who make the law. To a surprising degree, it is the personal experience of the legislator, of their family and friends that effects the development of the law. The biggest difficulty for me these days is being unable to take all the cases that come to us. The ones we can accept tend to be sophisticated and complex, requiring significant time expenditures. But from the beginning, every day has been different. Helping people is very satisfying.

Frank A. Louis
"Most of us are honest and decent lawyers - and for good reason. It doesn't take long to get a bad reputation. And the fact is, good lawyers matter. Get two good lawyers into a room, and it's the best way to resolve a case."