Law as a Means to an End

Sometimes the point of using a lawyer or the legal process itself isn't to avail yourself of the specific remedies it offers. Sometimes, you can make a different point or accomplish a different goal.

The best example I can think of is a foreclosure. People get behind on their mortgages because they can't pay, or because they don't like the terms of their loan. They will get into foreclosure, wait, and tap dance their way around the legal process for a year or more until they think it's the right time. Then, bang, they get themselves a loan modification, reducing their interest or even their principal because the banks would rather have a lower-profit paying customer than a big fat loss (the home) they have to sell.

Remember that sometimes it's more obvious than others, but the law is always a means to an end. You only use it as far as it benefits you in some way- to recover what you've lost, or maybe to protect what you already have.