THE ART OF FAMILY LAW
The result of war is peace. The Art of Family Law as our firm slogan was chosen by Rohe Law because we strategically plan, stay focused, and strive to be ahead of the opponent while keeping the goals of the Client at the forefront of every litigation process. The approach to the practice of law employed by Rohe Law is in large part based on the book “The Art of War.”
The creation of “The Art of Family Law” approach comes from the knowledge Attorney Rohe has obtained studying “The Art of War” and combining it with his many years of law practice. Most family law matters are imbued with passion and emotion, and therefore, quite often become a “war” between the Clients. It is the Attorney’s job to know when to attack, and when to negotiate, so as to obtain the maximum result with minimal damage.
There may come a time in a divorce where the Attorney may entice the opponent, and may seem weak in that moment, but the Attorney knows the tactics, and the plan; continuously having the Client’s desired outcome in mind, with the ultimate goal at the forefront of each battle. Here at Rohe Law we often face many battles beside our clients before reaching an acceptable peace.
Rohe Law has always and will always take pride in constantly developing new systems, tactics, and techniques. A great amount of time is spent finding and training the most talented personnel. This approach is taken because the firm’s founder and President, Attorney A.J. Rohe, believes that to be at the top of our craft, one should not just “go through the motions.” Below you will find an outline that was distributed to Judges and Attorneys at a conference presentation given by Mr. Rohe in September 2018.
THE ART OF DEPOSITION
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A FAMILY LAW ARTIST AND A “PLAIN” ATTORNEY
Mr. Rohe says:
“I was very disappointed when I started practicing law by the lack of effort and training many of the opposition undertook. When we were being taught in law school, in the abstract, there were very high aspirations to be at the peak of the profession. When I began actually practicing law, I saw the great disparity between those attorneys who continuously try to get better, and those who just hung the diploma on the wall, and did the bare minimum to keep the case moving. This concerned me because if the legal profession had such a wide range of professionals, then so must other professions such as physicians, mechanics, building contractors etc. I noticed that there were certain moves that were made in almost every case, and I also noticed that if I made a move on behalf of my client, it was often reacted to by the opponent by simply sending the same thing back to us. For example, if we set the opponent’s deposition, the opponent’s attorney would turn around and set our client’s deposition. If we sent out interrogatories, or a request for production of documents, they would do the same. Oftentimes, the opponent would copy whatever we sent them, and just send it back to us. While this is a much cheaper way of practicing, it is not technical and is not “artful”. It basically keeps their client from complaining about why the other side is being proactive and they are not. At Rohe Law, we choose our specific times to undertake specific courses of action, artfully choosing the most useful tactics. The strategy is not always the same. Rohe Law keeps evaluating what the issues are that are being litigated, who the opponent is, and who opposing counsel is, as well as what kind of pressure the opposing party is under, or may be under at different times during the course of the lawsuit.”
Mr. Rohe comes from a family filled with artists. In fact, when he first started undergraduate school, he chose to have a heavy emphasis on art and planned to have a career in advertising. The law is not a paint-by-number picture to paint. Much of our opposition does approach cases in that way. When the Art of Family Law is applied, one takes the same canvas as the opponents, the same paints as others, and instead of painting within pre-formed lines, the paints are applied, mixed, and put in various parts of the canvas in a manner determined by the artist: the Attorney. This creates a customized picture, rather than one that will have the same result that every other artist painting a paint-by-number canvas would have. The difference between Rohe Law and other family law firms is that Rohe Law sees their role as artistic, strategic, and purposeful. Every canvas we paint starts off blank and is custom painted for each Client and their specific situation(s). That is, the art of family law.