Attorney Hession's Short Story
Ever notice how lawyer bios on their web sites are all goodness and light. They smile, they succeed, they get awards, and they go to all the right cocktail parties at the bar association. This is not one of those; Not all lawyers got there the easy way.
I had a real job before becoming a lawyer, primarily in floor covering sales. I went to law school at night, while working during the day.
When I finally got my "ticket" after four years, I started my own law practice the next day, and right away found out the insanity of the family and juvenile court systems. I thought, "I must be missing something. It can't be this wrong and unjust." I was wrong - it can and it is.
Through a lot of hard work, I learned the rules, the realities, and the secret ways of the system. To succeed, you have to be - in the words of Atty. Louis Minns - an underground lawyer.
My passion to help those stuck in the system did not come from being hammered by it myself. I did suffer a divorce, but it was relatively peaceful. I've never had my children threatened by DCF or had a restraining order placed against me. My outrage about the court system comes from seeing the pain of so many who get caught in it, rich and poor alike.
From the wealthy person who drops half a million dollars on a high-priced Boston divorce lawyer and gets nearly nothing for it, to the single mother whose children are threatened by DCF, to the middle class guy who suddenly gets served with a restraining order out of the blue after ten years of a relationship, the system is an equal opportunity soul-crusher.
I've suffered real-life setbacks, so I understand real life. I've been divorced, bankrupt, lost a house, had kids rebel, and lost my license for a year and a half because I smuggled a child out of DCF and was not honest with the judge about my role in the matter.
Right now, I am taking a limited number of cases in the family and juvenile law areas, usually the really high-conflict ones where the wheels are coming off, in any court in the Commonwealth. I have started a publishing company, Family Legal Publishing, to help bring do-it-yourself info about these cases to people, and books for lawyers about how to really practice family law.
I have a little farm with sheep, goats, pigs, and chickens, in Thorndike, (Palmer) in Western Massachusetts (not exactly the gritty 'hood), and have survived the stress of helping those in dire straits by membership in the indispensable St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, which provides the solid rock of the ancient Christian faith in a way almost never seen in this world, as it brings a little heaven down to this earth.
I had a real job before becoming a lawyer, primarily in floor covering sales. I went to law school at night, while working during the day.
When I finally got my "ticket" after four years, I started my own law practice the next day, and right away found out the insanity of the family and juvenile court systems. I thought, "I must be missing something. It can't be this wrong and unjust." I was wrong - it can and it is.
Through a lot of hard work, I learned the rules, the realities, and the secret ways of the system. To succeed, you have to be - in the words of Atty. Louis Minns - an underground lawyer.
My passion to help those stuck in the system did not come from being hammered by it myself. I did suffer a divorce, but it was relatively peaceful. I've never had my children threatened by DCF or had a restraining order placed against me. My outrage about the court system comes from seeing the pain of so many who get caught in it, rich and poor alike.
From the wealthy person who drops half a million dollars on a high-priced Boston divorce lawyer and gets nearly nothing for it, to the single mother whose children are threatened by DCF, to the middle class guy who suddenly gets served with a restraining order out of the blue after ten years of a relationship, the system is an equal opportunity soul-crusher.
I've suffered real-life setbacks, so I understand real life. I've been divorced, bankrupt, lost a house, had kids rebel, and lost my license for a year and a half because I smuggled a child out of DCF and was not honest with the judge about my role in the matter.
Right now, I am taking a limited number of cases in the family and juvenile law areas, usually the really high-conflict ones where the wheels are coming off, in any court in the Commonwealth. I have started a publishing company, Family Legal Publishing, to help bring do-it-yourself info about these cases to people, and books for lawyers about how to really practice family law.
I have a little farm with sheep, goats, pigs, and chickens, in Thorndike, (Palmer) in Western Massachusetts (not exactly the gritty 'hood), and have survived the stress of helping those in dire straits by membership in the indispensable St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, which provides the solid rock of the ancient Christian faith in a way almost never seen in this world, as it brings a little heaven down to this earth.