Once upon a time,

A beautiful princess lived in a lovely house in the woods, St John's Wood perhaps.  She was as bright and hard working as she was attractive.  One day, a handsome prince came along.  He fell hopelessly in love with the princess and asked her to marry him.  She said no.  Instead, she spent her life partying, and never had to cook meals or clean up after anyone else, and had a wonderful rewarding career and a fantastic social life.  The prince was a little upset for a while but he soon met a much younger woman with large breasts and no ambition and he too became very happy and content.  They each had what they wanted.
OK, so it's not a traditional fairy tale, but is it any more realistic than the stories we read our children?  We've probably all read Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty, or had them read to us.  We all know about the tooth fairy and Santa clause and once upon a time we believed they were true.  They are all equally as unlikely as my fairy tale, yet we continue to perpetuate the myth, without any consideration to how the child must feel when they finally realise they've been lied to.  That they get toys at Christmas whether they've been good or not, and that the glass slipper doesn't always fit.
Law can be a bit like that too.  The client who comes in telling you it's a very simple matter and it will only take you half an hour to write the letter.  Or the one who tells you that they didn't believe they needed a contract, because they've known the other side for years and trusted them implicitly (in these cases it usually turns out to be the wicked ex spouse that is to blame for casting spells that they shouldn't have done).  Sometimes it can be a client with unreasonable expectations as to what they can afford in terms of legal fees or what it is that they think can be achieved.  Whilst sometimes it would be tempting to tell the client what they want to hear, so that they get a good night's sleep, all I'd be doing is delaying the inevitable.  Sometimes Rapunzel's hair isn't quite long enough to reach the ground.  There may be alternatives (how about a step ladder) but in other cases I have to be straight with the client, and tell them to start a new story.
So, if you're looking for a solicitor who will be honest with you, with a wide range of experience in a number of different areas of law, drop me a line at stephanie@kleymansolicitors.com and we'll see if we can find you your happily ever after.
Kleyman & Co Solicitors.  The full service law firm.  Good at happy endings.