From: noraa@cbnewsk.cb.att.com (aaron.l.hoffmeyer)
Subject: Re: December FACE Newsletter
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
Distribution: usa
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1992 20:45:32 GMT

In article <1992Dec16.220356.18588@husc3.harvard.edu> murphy1@husc10.harvard.edu (Gerard J. Murphy) writes:
>   I don't wish to sound like I'm carping, and I certainly don't want to
>criticize FACE, after all they have a much more effective organization
>than anything we have in Massachusetts ( including contact info for real
>attorneys ), but I found the article 'Finding an Attorney' in the December 
>newsletter a massive disappointment.
>
>Not only does this article NOT tell
>us anything about 'Finding an Attorney', it doesn't even tell us about
>these groups that supposedly can.
>

I agree with these sentiments.  The article was given to me for
publication, and I've been restrained from rejecting too many local
articles in the past.  This one was written by someone in Ohio, I think
it was Brad Johnson who does a Newsletter for a father's rights group
for the Cleveland area.  Anyway, it wasn't much of a "How-to" article,
it was more of a "Good-luck, you're gonna need it" opinion editorial.
A lot of finding a good attorney is on your shoulders.  It's your
choice, it's your money.  There aren't many organizations that will
even recommend a good one.  Your local Bar Association might give you
a little guidance, but not much.  No, it's your money, it's your life,
and it is YOUR SEARCH for an attorney.  I looked long and hard to find
my third attorney, and I talked to many, many attorneys before I even
narrowed the possible list down to just a few.  Most of those were out
of my price range.  The one that I chose, kind of chose me.  I wrote a
letter that summarized where I was, what I had been through, and what I
wanted.  I faxed that letter to three attorneys.  I chose the one who
came to me and told me, not that she wanted the case with a hefty
retainer, but the one who told me, "You need me."  She was also very
matter-of-fact and told me that it would take a long time and lots more
money to just get back to an even keel.  I was fortunate that this
attorney is good, in fact, very good, but also young and still making a
name for herself.  I also found that I would have to help her to 1)
minimize expenses, and 2) educate her to many realities she had not
considered or to dissuade her from some preconceived notions.

If the article did impart any good information, it was that there are
few attorneys out there that 1) care, 2) are truly objective, 3) are
unwilling to sell you down the river, 4) have a thorough knowledge of
domestic relations law.  This is truly amazing, because for many
attorneys, domestic relations law is their bread and butter.  But they
have usually been able to get their bread buttered in the past, whether
they actually did ANYTHING for their clients or not.  When all
attorneys representing men lost, how could you tell which one did a
good job at losing?

>   Again, I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm being overly critical, but I keep
>asking myself, 'Can't we do better than this?'
>
>                                       Gerry Murphy

I think the key word above is "we."  We didn't do this Newsletter, did
WE Gerry?

These forums are full of critics, screaming for someone, somewhere to do
something to fix this or just saying, "Your ideas are not valid, because
I don't agree--no logical analysis, just, "It doesn't wash with me,
therefore it is not true."  But many of these critics are only here to
criticize--they contribute nothing constructive.  Even the criticism is
often purely destructive.

I can take the criticism.  I have a job where my work is reviewed by
many, many people--closely scrutinized.  I divorce myself from my
mistakes as much as I possibly can.  I am also my worst critic.  I
notice mistakes that few others do.  Everything I have ever posted in
these forums is basically a 1st Draft--with the exception of a few
letters that had so many mistakes that I would cancel them then post
them again.  That is something I rarely do, though.  Anyway, I take a
lot of shots from you folks.  Some of you seem to think I must agree
with you on everything.  Well, I hate to yank you from your
delusions....

This Newsletter is a great deal of work--in the beginning it was about
40 hours per month.  I got a couple of people to help me with it, and
I've started to borrow from many other people's work.  I've cut my time
down to about 10-20 hours per month.  But the Newsletter has always
lacked that professional polish, that, if it was a professional
publication, it would have.  I get paid NADA to do this.  I produce a
Newsletter that it distributed to over 20,000 people, 400-500 copies in
hard-copy form and the total cost to produce it is about $7 per month.

If it doesn't meet your criteria for a professional publications, fine.
But I'd like to remind you how much it cost you....

I don't know, Gerry....  Can YOU do better than this?  

You're Welcome,

Aaron L. Hoffmeyer
TR@CBNEA.ATT.COM 
Newsgroups: alt.child-support,alt.dads-rights