The first thing you have to accept is that if your opponent had a half reasonable lawyer  you would not be in court.

Lawyers are officers of the court  and  they should  only use the court for  a legitimate purpose .

This would occur if two parties genuinely cannot  come to an agreement.

Too often  this agreement does to  occur because one party simply is not entitled to what he is  asking for   and so  court is used to  force you to give in.

It is war and if you are taken to  curt  without prior  negotiations or approaches made for resolution outside the court then you  know that you are dealing with  a lawyer of he unscrupulous kind.

Of course the converse is also applicable  whee some one has taken some thing of yours  and simply refused to address the issue  then you  have to  initiate action   and  be certain that the other side if they have money will employ lawyers  based on strategy not on what is legally right.

Lawyers are supposedly accountable to the  Law society  but we have found that  the law society acts more like na over protective mum  than  an enforcer of discipline .

Lawyers are  on average 2-500  an hour  plus  .

You will know  that you have a good lawyer when your lawyer seeks resolution outside the court  and holds the other party accountable to the law and to the rules.  such lawyers are worth their weight in gold  .  They exist but are hard to find.

Be sure to find  out what tactics lawyers use  if your lawyer uses these tactics    then you have to wonder what kind of a case you really have .