Are Family Lawyers Under The Constant Threat Of Physical Harm? | Lawinfo Weblog

Are Family Lawyers Under The Constant Threat Of Physical Harm? | Lawinfo Weblog

Are Family Lawyers Under The Constant Threat Of Physical Harm?

by Mark Sweet, Esq on June 14, 2011 in Family Law, Lead Counsel Corner

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http://blog.lawinfo.com/2011/06/14/are-family-lawyers-under-the-constant-threat-of-physical-harm/

There seems to be a lawyer for almost any type of conceivable problem; divorce lawyers, copyright lawyers, estate planning lawyers, even attorneys who can help protect your pet’s rights. For most lawyers, their clients problems may keep them up at night, but few are afraid for their physical safety.

Dangers To Attorneys

When you go to most courthouses, there are security guards and metal detectors. Many even have x-ray machines to check your belongings. While in court, there is usually a bailiff that has a gun (the bailiff is there to protect the judge, but if someone were to attack a lawyer, they would likely step in to assist). However, when you are outside the courthouse, there is little to protect you from an attack. Usually, a person wouldn’t think twice about being attacked coming out of court, but today, the National Law Journal reports that at least 5 family law attorneys have been violently assaulted or killed by their clients’ ex-spouses.

Dangerous Physical Attacks On Attorneys

The most recent attack happened to Jerrold Shelley who was murdered by a client’s ex-husband. The client’s case took place many years ago. The ex-husband, Dyess, instructed the office administrator to move out of the way, he then shot and killed Shelley. Bizarrely enough he was packing up his office to officially retire from being an attorney. In another example of violence against a family lawyer, Redmond Coyle was shot and killed outside of his office by the ex-husband of a client. In June, 2010 Terri Melcher was stabbed nearly 30 times in her law office outside of Minneapolis by the ex-husband of a woman she represented in a child custody case.

It is difficult to tell if these dangers are on the rise because most major legal organizations don’t track statistics on crimes committed against attorneys. Family law attorneys seem to be targeted based on the intense emotional issues that they are dealing with. Many family law attorneys are adding security measures beyond a receptionist to their office. Perhaps because of this, many family law attorneys continue to push for mediation to try to find an amicable resolution for a rather fierce debate.

What do you think? Should lawyers be afraid of their clients? Is mediation the way to go for volatile divorce proceedings?