Movies and TV shows always make out the opposing counsel as this unstoppable and evil force with unlimited resources and ill intent. Okay, maybe it’s not that extreme, but you get the idea. We all have an idea as to what the opposing counsel is. But are they that bad? Do they naturally hate your lawyer and vice versa? Well, on this episode, Seth invites Michael Lundy – a family law attorney in the great state of Florida who has sat on the opposite side of the table from him on numerous occasions as opposing counsel – to join the conversation. And you know what? He’s a great guy.It really shouldn’t come as a surprise but strangely, it probably feels like one – lawyers on opposite sides of a divorce case don’t hate each other like their clients may. They’re not the ones getting divorced, after all! Perhaps it’s the emotional baggage that those in the divorce process carry with them that they expect the lawyers to be more antagonistic toward each other, but when they’re not on the clock, they’re likely not even thinking about the other person. In fact, they may even be friends and are getting drinks after leaving the courtroom.Michael joins Pete and Seth to talk about the challenges of divorce law and why so often, it’s better to push for a settlement than to ever go to trial. Because as it turns out, the judges are the ones who control the outcome. And opinions on judges warrants an entire other episode. Needless to say, we talk about how judges vary in their decisions which makes settling far more hopeful in getting what you’re looking for.Now every lawyer is different with their own temperament, but you’re still putting more people in the decision-making process if you go to trial. And as Seth says in this episode, do you really want a government employee telling you what you get? And to a certain extent, that holds true across all jurisdictions.So tune in to this episode to hear Seth and Michael – two divorce attorneys who work as opposing counsel – on the same side of the table laying their thoughts out for you about expectations you should have of your own opposing counsel.Find Michael at Older Lundy Alvarez Koch & Martino

• (00:00) - Welcome to How to Split a Toaster
• (00:26) - Meet Michael Lundy, Opposing Counsel
• (04:18) - Judge Rotation
• (08:51) - Avoid Trials
• (10:05) - A System That Requires Adversaries
• (14:03) - The Price for the Inability to Engage
• (19:04) - Changing Incentives
• (22:59) - Attorneys Who Aren't as Level-Headed
• (24:54) - Trying to Do What's Right
• (28:36) - When They Won't Settle
• (30:36) - Pushing to Settle
• (33:52) - Solving Problems
• (37:24) - What Settling Looks Like
• (44:08) - Time to Go Through the Process
• (45:42) - Stuck on Percentages
• (46:58) - Sponsor: Soberlink
• (48:28) - Listener Question
• (51:23) - Wrapping Up