May 24th is Tiara Day.
A celebration of feeling special.
Recognizing achievements.
Crowning moments of success.
Here's what you need to know about your clients: most of them believe they're special.
Not all of them.
But most.
And that belief is going to cost you time, money, and sanity if you don't recognize it and address it early.
The Bandit Mentality
Around Louisville and the Ohio Valley, cycling clubs put on organized rides.
They cost money.
Someone's coordinating routes.
Managing logistics.
Arranging support.
Making sure the experience is solid.
But there are always the bandits.
Riders who show up anyway.
Don't pay.
"We're good enough we don't need to."
"We're experienced, different rules apply."
"We're special."
They get the ride they didn't pay for.
The support they didn't contribute to.
All because they decided they're exempt from the transaction.
Your clients do the same thing.
How Your Clients Show Up as Bandits
They walk into your office expecting special treatment.
"My situation is different."
"I shouldn't have to split 50/50 like everyone else."
"The court should understand my circumstances."
"I shouldn't have to follow the standard custody arrangement."
They want the benefits of the legal system.
The protection.
The leverage.
But they don't want to follow the rules the legal system requires.
They think they're special enough to transcend the process.
That their situation is unique enough to exempt them from standard procedure.
They've got a tiara on.
In their own mind.
And they're genuinely shocked when the system doesn't care.
Why This Costs You
Here's what happens:
You set expectations.
"This is how child support works. This is the standard timeline. This is what the court typically awards."
Your client nods.
But they're thinking: "Yeah, but that's not going to be me. I'm different."
So they fight the process.
They resist the recommendations.
They spend extra money litigating things that could have been settled.
They burn time on appeals that won't change the outcome.
All because they genuinely believed the rules didn't apply to them.
You end up spending 40 hours managing their special-case mentality when 10 hours would have resolved the whole thing if they'd accepted reality from the beginning.
How You Position Against This
The attorneys who are winning aren't the ones who validate the tiara.
They're not saying "Yes, your situation is so unique, we'll definitely get you special treatment."
They're saying something different.
"Here's how this works for everyone.
Here's what the law says.
Here's what judges typically do.
And here's how we're going to work within that framework to get you the best possible outcome."
That's it.
No apologies.
No "maybe we can get lucky."
Just clarity.
The clients who respect that?
They trust you more because you're not blowing smoke.
You're being real.
The clients who resist that?
You already know they're going to be a problem.
Better to find out early.
What Separates the Good Clients from the Bandits
The good ones understand the process.
They pay what they owe.
They follow the timeline.
They do the work.
They don't expect shortcuts.
They're not trying to sneak through the ride without paying.
They show up as adults.
The bandits are looking for an angle.
A way to get out of paying their share.
A way to change the rules because they think they're exempt.
Your job isn't to find them that angle.
Your job is to help them understand that the angle doesn't exist.
What You Can Do This Weekend
Look at your current clients.
Which ones think they're bandits?
Which ones believe their situation is so special that standard procedure doesn't apply?
That's your early warning system.
Because those clients are about to cost you serious time and frustration.
The smart move is to have the conversation early.
"Here's how this works. Here's what's standard. Here's what judges do. And here's how we're going to navigate this as adults."
If they accept that?
You've got a manageable client.
If they push back?
If they keep insisting their situation is special?
You might want to reconsider whether this is a client you want to keep.
Bottom line: Tiara Day celebrates feeling special and achieving great things.
But most of your clients show up feeling special before they've earned anything.
They think the rules don't apply.
That their situation is unique enough to transcend the standard process.
The ones who actually become special are the ones who accept reality early.
Who understand the system.
Who work within it instead of constantly trying to cheat it.
Your positioning as someone who doesn't coddle the bandit mentality—that's what separates you from every other attorney trying to tell clients what they want to hear.
The clients worth keeping?
They'll respect you for it.