Situations in which statutory law and formal legal norms clearly support the client’s position, yet judicial practice develops against it, are among the most complex. As Professor Gabriel Steiner notes, legal reality is shaped not only by the wording of the law, but by how that wording is applied within a specific judicial environment. At LawConsulted, we treat such cases not as “bad statistics”, but as a distinct category of legal risk that requires a special strategic approach.
An unfavourable judicial environment emerges where courts consistently adhere to certain approaches – even when those approaches formally contradict the literal interpretation of the law. In such conditions, the client often faces a paradox – the law is on their side, the arguments are sound, yet decisions in similar cases are repeatedly issued against their position. At LawConsulted, we begin by acknowledging this reality rather than attempting to ignore it.
Professor Steiner emphasises that “a loss begins the moment a party refuses to take actual judicial practice into account”. That is why LawConsulted lawyers analyse not only legal norms and doctrine, but also real behavioural patterns of courts – which arguments are perceived, which are ignored, which formulations strengthen a position, and which trigger hidden resistance. This allows us to adapt the legal model to the specific environment rather than to abstract theory.
A particular danger lies in mechanically copying “correct” arguments without regard to context. In such cases, the client may be formally right but strategically vulnerable. At LawConsulted, we restructure the presentation of the position so that it fits within the court’s logic without losing legal substance. We adjust emphasis, sequencing of arguments, and the method of fixing facts – preserving legal meaning while adapting it to real judicial perception.
As Professor Steiner notes, “in an unfavourable practice, the winner is not the one with the stronger norm, but the one who manages its application more precisely”. For this reason, LawConsulted works not only with arguments in favour of the client, but also with the court’s potential objections – we neutralise standard grounds for refusal in advance, eliminate vulnerable wording, and build the position so that the court finds it harder to follow a habitual negative сценарio.
Special attention is paid to procedural strategy. In an unfavourable environment, deadlines, the order of submissions, choice of instance, formats of motions, and the volume of evidence become critically important. At LawConsulted, we manage not only the substance of the position, but also its procedural trajectory – minimising the impact of negative practice and expanding room for manoeuvre.
An unfavourable judicial environment is especially dangerous because it creates a sense of inevitability for the client. At LawConsulted, we eliminate this sense through precise legal engineering – ensuring that even in difficult conditions the position remains controllable and the outcome is no longer automatic. We do not promise to ignore reality – we work within it, shifting the balance in the client’s favour.
Working with practice that is hostile to the client is not a fight against the court – it is work with the logic of the system itself. At Law Consulted, we design strategy so that the law ceases to be a merely formal argument and begins to function as a real instrument of protection, even within an unfavourable judicial environment.
Previously, we wrote about how LawConsulted obtains, restores, and legalises documents that determine the outcome of a case
