Liberty Postings

One of my New Year’s resolutions is to focus as much energy as possible on the positive.  I  want to find the good in people, make the best of my circumstances, and get excited for the possibilities that life will bring in 2010.  I have found that people who harp on the negative or find it necessary to put others down are only making themselves more miserable.  This doesn’t mean that I won’t write about the problems and challenges I see around me.  But, when given a choice, I will choose to see the positive while remaining realistic about the existence of the negative.

That being said, I want to get a jump start on my promise to myself by sharing a few things that I like about President Obama.

1. He appears to have a genuine and loving partnership with his wife.  President and First Lady Obama seem to share a mutual respect for one another and really value what the other person offers.  I get the sense from watching them look at each other there is a real sense of trust and friendship.  That is a great example for our country.

2. He is an involved father.  He clearly adores those two beautiful girls.  He is interested in their education and their personal development.  We could use more dads like that.

3. While I would never support a candidate based on his or her race, gender, religion, etc., I do know that having President Obama in the White House provides a positive role model for all children, particularly minority children.  I know that in everything from television shows to dolls to the presidency, it is important to see a person who looks like you.  President Obama has afforded that opportunity to millions of kids for the first time.

4. President Obama is active and athletic and is using his office to encourage physical fitness in others.  One of my personal interests is the problem of childhood obesity.  I am discouraged by the lack of movement and healthy eating by our kids.  With few exceptions, I see no reason for children to be overweight (adults, too, but that’s a different matter).  If President Obama can be one of many leaders who will carry the banner for fit kids, then I back that one hundred percent.

There you have it.  Those are some things I like about President Barack Obama.  Sure, they don’t have anything to do with his major policies.  But, he is our President and I am teaching my daughter to have respect for that office.  The points I listed above are ones that I share with her when we see President Obama on the news.  She will be four in a couple of weeks.  There’s time for in-depth policy debates later.

This man is condescending and, apparently, does not think  that women who are going through painful divorces are entitled to good communication from their attorneys.

I am not trying to be a bitter divorcee.  I do not have an unsubstantiated vendetta.  I do not wish to make divorce litigation the focus on this blog.  Instead, I am a consumer who is beyond frustrated by the treatment I have received from a professional to whom I paid a substantial amount of money.

In my previous post, I detailed the many ways in which I had been provided unacceptable representation from Pam Spicer.  As of this posting, I still have not heard from her.  No communication in more than a month (November 6).  I finally called the court myself several days ago to verify my divorce was final.  However, she has not bothered to return my phone calls or emails requesting an explanation of her many delays.

I decided to contact the head of the Nashville office of Spicer Rudstrom, PLLC, Rich Spicer.  While Mrs. Spicer no longer works at that firm, she was employed there when I started my case and my legal expenses were paid to that firm.  So, I felt that Spicer Rudstrom also had a responsibility to make sure my case was handled properly.

After detailing to Mr. Spicer the same complaints I shared on my blog, he wrote back the following:

I am sorry about your frustration.  In short, respectfully I simply do not agree that the timeline you mention is unreasonable based on what I know.

Mrs. Spicer told me that the papers would be filed on November 6.  They were filed on November 23.  That was after sending my private documents to the wrong email address, making me wait longer than necessary to sign the papers, and generally being difficult to reach.  Isn’t that enough to know??

From looking at the below and in speaking with Ms. Spicer, it appears that you may be confused about sample information she sent you for instructional and information purposes and actual information and forms to be used in your specific divorce.

Really?? You are going to blame me!!  No, I was not confused.  She gave me the sample information at our first meeting.  The form that she emailed to me months later that indicated I was moving to Vermont was accompanied by an email that said, “Attached you will find the drafts of the MDA and Parenting Plan.  If you have any questions or notice anything that needs to be changed/corrected, please let us know.”  So, the “moving to Vermont” form was not just a sample for instructional purposes.  It was sloppy work.

As far as a refund, the divorce was performed via your contract, for a flat fee,  and it appears that a refund is not in order.

I do not know how anyone could read all of the communication and file maintenance problems I have detailed and not believe I am entitled to some level of restitution

She tells me that she is more than happy to explain all of this further.

He then proceeds to give me her phone number, which I already have (I am quite familiar with her voice mail.).  He is putting it back on me to get in touch with her!  I have tried … repeatedly!  I think I am correct in believing she should be calling me.

Going through a divorce is a hellish experience, especially when there are small children involved.  Pam Spicer and the powers-that-be at Spicer Rudstrom have made it worse.  I will be filing a formal complaint and sharing my story with anyone else who will listen.  I’ve been told I am fairly effective with my use of the written word.  I plan to make the most of this skill so that other women can avoid the treatment I have received.

By this point, I think that everyone who knows Nathan or myself, or knows of us, is aware of the fact that we are getting a divorce.  Nathan moved out about a month before Ian was born and the divorce SHOULD be final by now.  I am still a “Mrs.”, though, and the fault for this delay lies at the well-dressed feet of my attorney.  If you live in the middle Tennessee area and you find yourself in need of a divorce attorney, I recommend that you DO NOT call Pam Spicer.

I will thank Mrs. Spicer for one thing–she educated me on what constitutes a bad divorce lawyer.  Now, I would like to share with you some of the tips she provided through her actions (and inactions):

1. If your very pregnant client (as she had a baby five days later) comes in to file for divorce on July 20 and, throughout the conversation, breaks into tears, make sure that you wait eleven days to file the paperwork with the courts so that said client has to wait even longer for a painful process to reach a conclusion.

2. After the specifics are hammered out and your client requests a copy of the paperwork to make sure all of the details are correct, make sure you take five days to email that paperwork to her.

3. Hire a secretary who, before sending the paperwork to the correct email address of your client, emails the documents to the wrong email address.  This has the two-part benefit of delaying your client’s opportunity to review the paperwork and exposing her divorce details to a complete stranger who happens to have a similar email address.

4. When your client finally receives all of the paperwork to review, see if she finds it amusing that half of the required information is left blank and, apparently, you decided that she is moving with the kids to Vermont!  I’ll bet that while she is exhausted and lonely with a newborn and preschooler at home, your little prank will bring a much-needed smile to her face.

5. As the 90-day waiting period comes to an end on October 31, make sure that you are completely inaccessible to your client.  Don’t give her a chance to sign the paperwork until November 6.  Don’t worry — she just loves waiting!

6. Once your client signs the final paperwork on the morning of November 6, tell her that you will submit all of the documents to the court that very afternoon.  But, here’s the important part, so make sure you are paying attention.  Don’t really file them!  Instead, for no apparent reason, wait until Monday, November 23 and file them.  This way, the judge will likely be gone for the Thanksgiving week and your client will have to wait even longer to put this mess behind her.  Oh, won’t she want to give thanks for you around the holiday table this year??!!

7. Finally, once your client discovers through independent inquiries to the court that the final papers were indeed filed seventeen days later than they were supposed to be, don’t return her repeated emails and phone calls in which she insists on knowing why you took so long.

Follow these steps and you can be a bad divorce attorney, too!