Family Law

Lawyer Who Got $50K Monthly Alimony for Client Faces Potential Disciplinary Action re Relationship

A Michigan matrimonial lawyer is facing potential disciplinary action after admitting that a relationship with a client in a high-profile divorce case over a decade ago violated an attorney ethics rule. Even though Henry Baskin got a very good result for Linda Olson in her divorce from a general contractor…

Apr 30, 2012 8:12 PM CDT

Man Files Federal Wiretap Suit Against Ex, Says He Found Recording Device Sewn Into Son’s Clothing

In an era in which a Texas matrimonial lawyer routinely suggests to clients that they remove the battery from their cellphones to prevent illicit surveillance during legal consultations, savvy spouses should be aware that their significant others may literally be monitoring almost their every move. But Brian R. Martin was…

Apr 30, 2012 5:40 PM CDT

Federal Judge Nixes Duty-to-Warn Case Against Lawyer by Victims of Elderly Client’s Shooting Attack

Updated: A federal judge in Helena is pushing the estate of an elderly Florida retiree to settle the tort case brought by a Montana woman and her daughter after he became obsessed with the girl, drove to her home more than 2,000 miles away and attacked the mother outside their…

Apr 24, 2012 4:54 PM CDT

Polo Mogul Who Adopted Adult Gal Pal Paid $46M to End Crash Case, Says ‘Wealth Bias’ Put Him in Jail

After paying $46 million to settle a civil wrongful death case over a fatal auto accident, South Florida polo mogul John Goodman is now complaining that a “wealth bias” is keeping him in jail after his criminal conviction. Most or all of the settlement was paid by the insurers of…

Apr 20, 2012 6:51 PM CDT

Federal Jury Convicts Attorney and His Mom of Lying in Law Office Tax Case Launched By His Ex-Wife

After a five-week trial and two days of deliberation, a federal jury in Columbus has found an Ohio attorney and his mother guilty of lying to a grand jury in a law office tax case launched by his now ex-wife during a bitter divorce. Aristotle R. Matsa, 55, also was…

Apr 20, 2012 6:11 PM CDT

Judge Denied Protective Order for Woman Later Shot Outside Lawyer’s Office in Murder-Suicide

A California woman had sought an emergency restraining order against her estranged husband a week before he shot her in a murder-suicide on Sunday outside a divorce lawyer’s office in Petaluma. A Petaluma police officer had telephoned a judge on April 9 with an emergency request for a protective order…

Apr 19, 2012 3:52 PM CDT

California Man Killed Wife and Himself Outside Divorce Lawyer’s Office, Police Say

A California man shot his wife and then himself outside a divorce lawyer’s office on Sunday afternoon in downtown Petaluma, police say. Kevin Conover, 41, and his wife, Kim Conover, 43, died after being taken to local hospitals, report the Bay City News Service, the Press Democrat and the San…

Apr 16, 2012 7:01 PM CDT

New Parental Accountability Court Helps Increase Child Support Payments While Cutting Jail Costs

Serving time didn’t help Ricky Smith stay on track paying child support, plus it cost the state of Georgia a significant amount of money. But the Hall County Parental Accountability Court had more success, pointing the 42-year-old in the right direction concerning not only his monetary obligations but his duties…

Apr 13, 2012 2:53 PM CDT

Divorce Lawyer Takes Plea, Admits Contract Hit Plot re Ex-Boyfriend of Ex-Client He Was Dating

A young divorce lawyer with a once-thriving practice in the Chicago suburbs has taken a plea in a federal case in which he was charged with plotting a murder for hire targeting the jealous ex-boyfriend of a former client the attorney was dating. Overwhelmed by months of harassment by his…

Apr 13, 2012 12:19 PM CDT

NY Appeals Court OKs $12K Divorce Award for Value of Spouse’s Notre Dame Law Degree

A New York trial court did not abuse its discretion in awarding a husband only 10 percent of the value assigned to his wife’s law degree from Notre Dame University despite his contributions as the family’s primary wage-earner and the child care he provided while his wife was in law…

Apr 13, 2012 10:36 AM CDT

Paul Weiss Partner Can’t Get Divorce Deal Do-Over Because of Madoff Losses, NY Top Court Says

A partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison can’t revise his divorce settlement because his proceeds included $5.4 million invested with Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff, New York’s top court has ruled. The decision by the New York Court of Appeals reverses a January 2011 ruling allowing a do-over for…

Apr 4, 2012 12:08 PM CDT

Federal Judge Pans Pimp Who Owed $146K in Child Support to 10 Women

U.S. District Judge of Rudolph Randa had little sympathy for a convicted pimp last Thursday when he sentenced him to 30 years in prison. But Randa did express empathy for 10 women owed $146,000 in child support for the pimp’s 12 children, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel blog Proof…

Apr 3, 2012 2:43 PM CDT

Immigration Problems Targeted in Suit Challenging US Ban on Recognition of Gay Marriages

Five gay and lesbian couples have filed suit claiming a federal law barring recognition of same-sex marriages could force them to leave the country. Because of the ban, gays who are U.S. citizens cannot sponsor their spouses for green cards, according to the New York Times and a press release.…

Apr 3, 2012 2:07 PM CDT

Letters: Weighing in on War Powers

WEIGHING IN ON WAR POWERS In “Patriots Debate,” February, about the power to “declare war,” professors John Yoo and Louis Fisher certainly examined the historical, practical and political issues thoroughly. May I suggest that what is left of the congressional power to declare war is this: Unless a majority of…

Apr 1, 2012 10:20 AM CDT

Alimony Decision Shows How Layoff Affected BigLaw Partner

An Illinois divorce decision showcases the economic problems that can plague BigLaw partners ousted from their jobs during the recession. The case involves David McLauchlan, who sought to modify an order that he pay his wife of more than 30 years $14,000 a month in monthly alimony after their divorce,…

Mar 30, 2012 1:34 PM CDT