One of the things you learn in law, and I am not talking about clear-cut cases like motor accidents where somebody drives into somebody else from behind, is that there are two sides to almost every story. That is particularly true in divorces, most litigated matters and any matters involving two people or more! That does not mean that there is not one party who is more right than the other party, but typically speaking, things are never as clear-cut, once you have heard both sides of the story, as they are when you only listen to one side.

It is a lesson that all of us can learn, because it is not just in law that that happens – it is in everyday gossip, stories or the kind of idle chit-chat that we all make. We are invariably presenting or hearing one person’s side of the story, and while that makes for far more juicy gossip and entertaining discussions than presenting a balanced picture, most of the time it is not the whole story. There is often more to the story, and while generally whatever the rest of the story is does not affect most of us, whenever one takes part in such a discussion one must be aware that it is unlikely to be the whole story. You also have to take into consideration the personality of the person telling the story – some people have, for example, the “victim” approach whereby they feel that they are always the victim of some or other conduct or behaviour and you also get those who sensationalise everything – the lady who believes every man is obsessed with her or chasing after her, and only her, or the man that vastly exaggerates his exploits, whether in business, dealing in shares or otherwise! The bottom line is, if one person’s story was the whole version, we would not need courts or Judges! It seldom is.