Posted: Thursday, 10 November 2022 @ 14:35
Having dealt with a number of inheritance cases which have concluded (be it by settling or going to Court) I am in position to provide guidance as to what attributes are necessary to win inheritance cases.
Of course the law (e.g the strength of your legal position) is an important dynamic but I would say it is not the most important one and in my view NOT in the top two.
So what are the most important variables to win these kind of cases and why?
The most important variables stem from the client. Much as any lawyer would like to claim credit for the successes of their client in Court(and yes, good lawyers can win cases and are important) it is ultimately the client's character and ability to elicit sympathy which win most cases and secure good outcomes. Specifically these are:
1 The Client Mentality- The fundamental aspect about inheritance cases is that they are not sprints to the finish, but are often long pieces of litigation, and the client and the lawyer ride a number of waves going through some highs and lows. To get better outcomes, the most important dynamic from the client is the determination to win. If the client has that will to win, it enables that person to overcome most potential setbacks which they face along the way. I have had cases which have been criticised by other sides lawyers(sometimes legitimately), the client's friends, partially by Judges and my own barristers, yet these apparent setbacks have been overcome. Apparent marginal cases have been strengthened and a winning position obtained and this has happened because of a synergy between the client and the lawyer as they both calmly look at that difficultly and seek to overcome with a common purpose and look to strengthen the case. At all points in this process neither the client nor the lawyer throw their toys out of the pram. They are both completely aligned to a goal, fundamentally not governed by emotion and possess confidence in each other.
2 The Ability to Elicit Judicial Sympathy - Judges do look beyond the law and to have a prospect of success there must be a significant element of the client being right. As a consequence I consider my role to help draw out the best aspects of my client's character and bring this into play particularly as the Court hearing approaches.