About a year ago, I found myself in Lawrence Goodwin's office 24 hrs after my daughter and I had…read moreleft home and the dangerous husband that went with it. The framed Scarface poster on the wall told me that I had come to the right place. I needed someone who would fight the battles that I was too tired to fight myself. I wanted a warrior, a shark, a pit-bull; someone to stand up and say, "She's not afraid of your threats any longer! " I got all that and more in Lawrence.
He listened carefully to the entirety of my situation, picking it apart, and asking a lot of questions until he was confident he understood it all. He told me right away what he could and couldn't do for me. He made a promise to always "give it to me straight" throughout the process, so as not to get my hopes up for results founded in unrealistic expectations. I hired him immediately and he told me exactly what to do, what not to do, and for anything else not previously mentioned - to check with him first. I had walked in there that day feeling confused, scared, and discouraged. After talking to Lawrence, I felt like I was a woman with a plan. I had confidence. I had hope. Lawrence immediately sprung into action once I left his office.
My divorce ended up lasting over 11 months and went all the way to a full day trial. It has been litigated in 2 different counties. There have been NUMEROUS hearings, a protective order, contempt of court charges, and changing of attorneys multiple times (on the opposing side). Add to that, my ex-husband did every wicked thing you could possibly imagine to try to force me to back down to his demands. Lawrence has been with me through it all, since day one. He has been my voice of reason when my emotions were spiraling out of control. When you're going through a divorce, you're an emotional wreck. You're not in a good place to make quick, educated, major decisions that will affect the rest of your life and your children's lives. Lawrence will tell you when to calm down, get over it, move on, or put your big girl panties on and get ready for the battle.
Trusting a new person is not an easy thing to do, especially when your spouse has just betrayed you or let you down. I remember in the beginning, really questioning a lot of the things that Lawrence would say to me or tell me to do. I would argue with him and he would take the time to explain to me why he was right. There is only one thing I hate about Lawrence Goodwin: the man is always right. He knows the law. He knows all of the judge's personalities, styles, and how they will respond to everything. The first time we went to court, I saw all of this right before my eyes. I learned to trust him and now I have such a strong confidence in him that he has gone to court without me on several occasions, as he is fully capable of arguing on my behalf.
Watching Lawrence in the courtroom is like watching Leonardo da Vinci paint, Mozart play the piano, or Michael Jordan slam dunk a basketball. He was born to be an attorney and is a master of his craft. Lawrence always shows up to court looking like a million bucks, in a designer suit. He has an entourage of interns and staff following closely behind. It's very intimidating for the opposing party. No matter what the judge or the other side throws at him, he thinks FAST on his feet, shoots down whatever issue was at hand and moves on to his next point. He commands complete control of the courtroom and NOTHING causes him hesitation. Lawrence makes the opposing side sorry they even brought up whatever issue it was. It's like, "Oh, you didn't know this was my courtroom? Stick around and you'll see who's boss." People who were sitting in the courtroom during a few of my hearings have actually come up to my family and I and said, "WOW", referring to Lawrence kicking butt and taking names. If you think all lawyers are pretty much the same and will get you what you want, think again. I have sat in family court in absolute SHOCK, watching the timid, soft spoken, attorneys in other cases who were completely out of their comfort zones. You cannot do it alone or without Lawrence Goodwin on your side.
My divorce was final last month and I was awarded sole custody of my daughter. I also got 99% of everything else I wanted. It wasn't easy (although Lawrence sure made it look that way in court) and it also wasn't cheap. But, today I am debt free, since Lawrence made sure my ex got all of the marital debt, and I have my little girl. We are moving on to a great life and I am not afraid of whatever the future holds because I know that Lawrence Goodwin is always just a phone call away.
