civility v criminality - discuss

Subject close to my heart as I have always been as far as possible honest and objective during divorce.

I accept that I was not the best wife to my husband but can he accept that he was not the best husband to me and our kids?

Still, in the Uk you expect courts in civil proceedings to be just that, civil. You do not expect a litigant to get away with lies and non disclosure, obvious false accusations and to protract proceedings time and time again without any resolutio for the litigating party and only costs for the civil lawywers involved.

It brings to mind the series on TV recently about Briefs - criminal lawyers and the book on criminal law written by Iain Morley QC called the Devils Advocate.

I reall during the Brief that one of the lawyers defending a persistant drug supplier stated a comment by a UK Judge that "no-one represents the vulnerable more than a criminal lawyer".

On first inspection that sounds like an insult but when you look into the way they conduct themselves, what they advise their clients and how they treat even those who it is difficult for defend, it is difficult to argue with the judge who allegedly said that.

The most important thing for me is that noone is in a better situation to abuse trust and abuse the vulnerable than those intimately involved. I do not think that matters whether you are involved with a business partner, a fellow trustee, a contact in law or a marriage or partnership.

The closer you get to someone and the more you know about their personal attitiudes or finance the more likely it is that you can abuse your position and abuse their trust.