Family Law

Divorce Lawyer Is Sued Along with Client Who Secretly Monitored Wife on Video

A well-known Cincinnati lawyer is among the defendants in two federal privacy lawsuits filed by a woman and her online friend claiming the attorney intended to use secret surveillance in divorce proceedings. Plaintiff Catherine Zang alleges her then-husband, Cincinnati home builder Joseph Zang, spied on her with a hidden video…

Sep 12, 2012 12:10 PM CDT

New Breastfeeding Policy Debate Follows Anthropology Prof’s Decision to Bring Baby to Class

An assistant anthropology professor at American University has ignited new debate about the parameters of breastfeeding law and policy by bringing her baby to the first day of class when the child unexpectedly awakened with a fever that day. As Adrienne Pine explains in a Counterculture essay last week, she…

Sep 11, 2012 7:32 PM CDT

New App Calculates Alimony and Divorce Payments in Massachusetts

Gabriel Cheong, a Massachusetts divorce lawyer with Infinity Law Group, recently launched an iPhone and iPad app that calculates alimony and divorce payments in the state. It also generates a court-approved child-support form in PDF format, Robert Ambrogi’s LawSites reports, and calculates date ranges for divorce decrees. Called Massachusetts Divorce,…

Sep 6, 2012 5:45 PM CDT

Gay Marriage Infringes Freedom of Its Opponents, Law Prof Argues in Op-Ed

When the law expands one person’s freedom, it restricts that of another. That principle applies in the context of gay marriage, according to University of St. Thomas law professor Robert Delahunty. In a commentary in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Delahunty disagrees with the reasoning of a colleague who opposes a…

Sep 6, 2012 11:00 AM CDT

Man Charged re Judge Grudge Phone Threats, But Pistol-Packing Jurist Is Ready for Action, If Needed

A Florida man who police say left multiple profanity-laden voicemails in July threatening to pistol-whip and kill a state court judge against whom he’d admittedly held a 12-year grudge has been tracked down, arrested and charged in a stalking and harassment case. A uniformed, armed sheriff’s officer protected 15th Judicial…

Sep 5, 2012 5:33 PM CDT

Who’s Paying? More Women Are Becoming Payors in Alimony, Child Support

According to a recent survey of members of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, 56 percent of members have noticed an increase in the number of mothers who are paying child support. 47 percent of members have noticed an increase in the number of women paying alimony to their former…

Sep 1, 2012 9:19 AM CDT

Marriage Proposal: Court May Weigh Levels of Scrutiny for Same-Sex Couples

Gay marriage may move from the political agenda to the U.S. Supreme Court docket this fall when the justices are expected to consider whether to accept two major cases on how the law treats same-sex couples. But unlike the boisterous debates among candidates, the court’s examination promises to be a…

Sep 1, 2012 8:09 AM CDT

2 Ex-Wives Unite to Get Dad Tried in $481K Child-Support Case; Judge Nixes State’s $10K Plea Deal

Two ex-wives who combined forces to track down Stephen Wayne Cantrell expressed joy Monday at news that a Massachusetts judge has nixed a state-approved plea deal that would have allowed him to be released from jail in exchange for paying $10,000 of the $481,000 he owes in past-due child support.…

Aug 27, 2012 8:35 PM CDT

Gay Judge Contends His Dad’s Marriage Mandate in Will Violates Public Policy

A Manhattan criminal court judge is seeking approval of a settlement that would invalidate an unusual requirement in his father’s will. The will denies any inheritance to the offspring of Judge Robert Mandelbaum if the judge adopted the child while single, or if he failed to marry the mother of…

Aug 27, 2012 4:43 PM CDT

Columnist Praises Pro Bono Lawyers for Taking On Pro-Military and Constitutional Cases

A federal appeals judge recently criticized what he perceived as an undue emphasis by this country’s pro bono lawyers on pursuing higher-profile cases that display an antipathy toward the military. Meanwhile, he contended, rank-and-file service members have legal needs that go unserved. But there is, in fact, a program that…

Aug 24, 2012 1:45 PM CDT

Denied Protective Order re Claimed Spouse Abuse, Man Charged with Threatening to Shoot Wife, Judge

A man who was denied a protective order on Wednesday by a Maine judge is accused of threatening to shoot both his wife and the judge as he left the courthouse. Shawn Breton, 37, is charged with two terrorizing counts concerning the Augusta District Court incident, reports the Bangor Daily…

Aug 24, 2012 10:27 AM CDT

Skadden Associate Tells of Her Rape and Pregnancy in Open Letter to Todd Akin

An associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom is addressing U.S. Rep. Todd Akin’s comments about “legitimate rape” in an open letter that tells of her own rape and pregnancy. The Am Law Daily reports Shauna Prewitt was a 21-year-old senior at the University of Chicago when she was…

Aug 23, 2012 11:37 AM CDT

Dad Cites Daughter’s Dolly Parton Costume on ‘Toddlers & Tiaras’ in Custody Battle

A woman who dressed her daughter in a Dolly Parton outfit with a padded bra and backside in a Toddlers & Tiaras episode could lose custody of the girl. In a battle unfolding in a Kentucky courtroom, a court-appointed psychologist is siding with Bill Verst, father of the young Toddlers…

Aug 21, 2012 1:06 PM CDT

Supreme Court to Hear Army Sergeant’s Bid for the Return of His Daughter

In an unusual summertime cert grant, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a U.S. Army’s sergeant’s bid for the return of his 5-year-old daughter, who is living in Scotland with his ex-wife. At issue is whether an appeal becomes moot when a child returns to his or her…

Aug 21, 2012 11:00 AM CDT

Ex-Client Sues Divorce Lawyer, Says He Went Easy on Her Spouse Due to Advance ‘Understanding’

A New York judge has given the green light to a legal malpractice case filed by a divorced woman who says the prominent attorney she was told to choose by her then-husband went easy on him in the matrimonial litigation. While Lisa Blumencranz has not proven her allegations against her…

Aug 15, 2012 4:55 PM CDT