There are several important things to keep in mind when working with your attorney, not the least of which is your direct interaction with him.

First of all, your attorney is working for you. You're paying him, not the other way around. He is supposed to, in general, do what you want. Nonetheless, you will probably want to leave the "driving" to him in most instances. After all, when you pay a mechanic to work on your car, you tell him what you want done but you don't tell him how to do it.

It's the same with your attorney. You and he must discuss what your goals are and what you want the end results to be. Exactly how these things are to be achieved are probably best determined by him. He is, after all, the one with the law degree on the wall.

This doesn't mean you should blindly expect him to take care of everything, in fact, the exact opposite is true. The more legwork you do and the more relevant information you can supply him with, the better he can do his job. You must be intimately involved in your case. Don't make the mistake of thinking that your attorney knows everything and that he can make the best decision on every issue.

It's in your best interests to be as involved as possible and to find out about things that'll help you and your case. If you don't search for and dig up this kind of information, who will? Who has better, more vested interests than you? Nobody, that's who.
Perfectly good cases are lost because Joe Client thinks everything is fine and that he doesn't have to lift a finger. It's called the "My-attorney-will-take-care-of-it" syndrome.

You're almost certainly more aware of the details of your case than your attorney is- after all, it's your spouse that you're divorcing, not his. Consider your job to be that of co-pilot and navigator- you provide the direction, he flies the plane.
Generally, it's best to go with your attorney's decisions and accept his guidance. Your attorney probably knows his job pretty well, just like you know yours.
If you really feel that a different course of action would be better, then by all means say so. Discuss the matter at hand with him and let him know why you think your approach to the issue is better. If he's a good attorney, he'll listen to your reasoning and either go with your suggestion or explain why he doesn't think he should.

Unless you feel strongly about the issue and are certain that you know better than he does, follow his advice. He's the expert and you're paying for his counsel and skill. Look at it this way: Your attorney is probably going to do a whole bunch of divorces this year. Unless you're very unlucky, you're going to only do one: yours. Having been involved in a lot more divorce cases than you, he's much more likely to be qualified to suggest an effective course of action.

You have the right to expect certain things from your attorney, such as timely communication and regular opportunities to discuss on-going issues, developments and strategy. As your attorney, he is contractually-obligated to provide you with the best legal representation he can and to act solely in your best interests.

Needless to say, the closer your relationship with your attorney, the better, to a point. However, if you and your attorney aren't getting along or are unable to work closely together it may be best to discuss this with him and then seek other counsel. Don't do this casually- this is a pretty extreme step and should only be done after careful deliberation. (You can also expect opposing counsel to have a field day in court with the fact that you fired your first attorney and got another one, even if your reasons for doing so were perfectly valid.)

If you feel your attorney isn't being aggressive enough (or is being too aggressive) discuss this with him, too. Attorneys vary widely in their approach to litigation- some are too passive, some are too aggressive, and some are just right. Find one that suits your style and whom you feel comfortable with.


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