Real Life Real Faith Wisdom for Everyday Life May/June Issue | Page 30

DA:  One of the most memorable cases I have handled as an Attorney was when a
72-year-old man came to my office on December 27, 1991 and told me with a straight face
“God has sent me to you and I know you will help me”. I was struck by this man who just
walked in my office on the 27th floor of a downtown Miami building, and stated that God
had sent him to me. To this day, I have no idea how he came to me. He was facing a
foreclosure and was terrified at the prospect of losing his home of more than 30 years. He
only had $400.00 to pay for my fees. In the beginning, I told him that I could not help him
but he kept repeating that God had sent him to me and he believed that I will help him.
Another reason I thought I could not help him was that a hearing on the bank’s Motion for
Summary Judgment had been scheduled on January 2, 1992 - literally two business days
later. Without going in details, I accepted the case and was eventually able to defeat the
bank’s position and to induce the bank to settle with him. Another case involved a
construction law issue when a contractor failed to complete the construction of a home. I
pursued the case and eventually it was on appeal before a District court of appeal and
then before the Supreme Court of Florida. My message to others who may consider
entering the field of law would be to think outside the box. Just because a situation seems
to be hopeless based on the then statutory or case law, do not give up. If something
makes a good common sense, then there is always a way to make a good legal argument
and to help the client.
ACR:  Your upcoming book deals with marital fidelity and how couples should conduct
themselves for a lasting relationship. What is the title and why write such a book?
DA:  Yes, I have been working on my book for almost 20 years. The original working title
was "How to Be Better Husband". However, I found later that someone had published
another book with that title. Therefore, now I plan to focus on sharing my journey to be a
better husband. I began writing the book more than 10 years ago with the help of a friend
who assisted me. I interviewed close to 50 couples who had been at different stages of
their married life, some were married 50 yrs., others were newly married,  and some others
were divorced. I wanted to know what works, or what went wrong. Based on my notes and
the message I wanted to convey, I completed writing the book almost 5 years ago.
However, I have not released the book yet because each time I had an argument with my
wife, I felt that I have not earned the right to deliver the message to others. I believe that
before I can tell others how to be a better husband, I must be one. I believe that I am at
that point now and I am comfortable in delivering such message. It is noteworthy that
having a lasting relationship is not the primary goal of the book. It is a natural outcome
when two people are in love, honor each other and have mutual respect. As I stated
before, I want to start a revolution in the thinking of men that they should want to treat
their wives better. I want to start an organization, which has the potential of becoming