After more than 30 years, I'm still excited about practicing Family Law. This area of the law allows you to utilize the entire spectrum of academic and social skills - oral advocacy in the courtroom, psychology in settlement negotiations, social science in custody disputes, mathematics in tax and valuation cases, medicine in employment issues, language arts in appellate persuasion and even foreign language skills.

Each day is an adventure filled with humor, sadness, some angst and some exhilaration. It's always a roller coaster ride as you deal with the emotions of divorce and custody matters. You see clients at their worst, and one of your responsibilities is to try to diffuse the emotions of fear and anger so that the focus can be directed toward resolving the case.

To be effective in this field you need to have a reputation as a tough advocate, be comfortable with the rules of court and the rules of evidence, and be willing to leave no stone unturned for your client.

Divorce is not a sports event or a television quiz show. By definition, there are no winners. Homes are sold, assets divided, standards of living adjusted and children impacted. And that's the best you can hope for - as opposed to the more extreme cases, which involve domestic violence, interstate custody relocation, tax fraud and parental alienation. Most us who've done this kind of work for a while have seen it all.

The best family lawyers I know never stop understanding how important every case is to every client. Firmness and fairness balanced with creativity and compassion. The best lawyers I know reflect Bismarck's precept: "An iron hand in a velvet glove."