Family Law

DOJ Seeks Stay of Judge’s Ban on ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Rule—But Wants to End Policy, Too

A lawyer for the group that successfully challenged the U.S. military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gay and lesbian troops tells the Associated Press that the Obama administration plans to appeal and ask for a stay of the ruling later today. And an unidentified government source confirmed the news…

Oct 14, 2010 8:15 PM CDT

ABA: New Law Would Help Soldiers Focus on Missions Abroad Instead of Legal Problems at Home

For years, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act has helped protect those on active duty, allowing them to, among other things, terminate leases and capping the interest rate creditors can charge at 6 percent. But to invoke these protections military personnel may need a lawyer. Yet even with representation, some creditors…

Oct 8, 2010 5:35 PM CDT

Law Firm’s Website Warns Clients: We Aren’t Perfect and We Don’t Work Weekends

High-maintenance divorce clients may not want to hire the Pincus Family Law firm in Columbia, S.C. The law firm takes work-life balance seriously, and it expects its clients to behave. The firm sets out the boundaries on its website under the heading “Client Expectations (Realistic or Unrealistic).” Pincus Family Law…

Oct 7, 2010 3:27 PM CDT

NH Lawyer Publicly Censured for Having Sex with Client

Add another lawyer to the list of those recently disciplined for having sex with the wife in a divorce case. In the case of Paul Maggiotto, however, the wife was also his client, and he “had a duty not to engage in a sexual relationship with his divorce client,” says…

Oct 6, 2010 6:07 PM CDT

Family Court Fight Expands to Include New Parties: Bedbugs

It was bad enough just dealing with her cousin’s divorce, Brianna Duggan tells the New York Daily News. But then, during a hearing last month in Bronx County Family Court, some new parties hitched a ride into the litigation battle: bedbugs, reports the New York Daily News. In addition to…

Oct 5, 2010 7:02 PM CDT

Jailed Attorney Charged with Assault, Accused of Hogging Copier Before Trial

Things have gone from bad to worse for a New York lawyer scheduled to begin a pro se criminal trial today on charges that he schemed to scam families seeking a baby to adopt. Already jailed in lieu of $500,000 bail in the Nassau County adoption case, Kevin Cohen allegedly…

Oct 4, 2010 8:04 PM CDT

Jurors Names Kept Secret from Lawyers in Trial Over Murder of Criminal Defense Attorney

Jury selection began this morning, under extraordinary security measures, for the trial of a man accused of killing an Ohio criminal defense attorney who was his live-in girlfriend and, subsequently, an alleged witness to that crime. Even defense lawyers aren’t being told the names of jurors who are to hear…

Oct 4, 2010 5:52 PM CDT

Petition Asks Wisconsin High Court to Adopt Civil Gideon Rule

The Wisconsin Supreme Court is being asked to adopt a rule that would provide free lawyers to some civil litigants. The proposed rule would require free representation to protect poor litigants’ rights to “basic human needs,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. Cases where the rule would apply involve food, shelter,…

Oct 1, 2010 11:00 AM CDT

Ain’t No Dividing Wall High Enough to Keep Battling Couple in Shared Home Away From Litigation Fray

Chana and Simon Taub love their house. But they loathe each other, the New York Times (reg. req.) reported in 2008, after a court-ordered wall was constructed in thelr lavish Brooklyn home. It was intended to allow both to continue living there in the midst of a litigation war. Already,…

Sep 29, 2010 5:04 PM CDT

Battle of the Titans: Divorce Lawyer’s Fee Suit Backfires in Bar Prez Battle

A former president of the Virginia Bar Association came out the loser when he sued a former client for additional attorney fees and the client fought back, using expert testimony from another ex-bar president. The lawyer who sued, Glenn Lewis, “is an acknowledged titan of the D.C. area divorce bar,”…

Sep 27, 2010 2:13 PM CDT

Using Fake Bar Number, ‘Lawyer’ Handled 20 Civil Matters, Newspaper Reports

When Kelly Fulmer resigned from the Walton-Verona school board this week, after more than a decade of service, he didn’t give a reason. But he told fellow board members in the Kentucky school district they would be reading about him in the newspaper, reports the Cincinnati Enquirer. And they did:…

Sep 23, 2010 5:33 PM CDT

Judge Reprimanded for Nearly 2-Year Delay in Filing Divorce Ruling

A North Carolina judge has been reprimanded for taking nearly two years to file his ruling in a divorce case. District Court Judge K. Dean Black, who handles cases from Cleveland and Lincoln counties, didn’t contest the public rebuke, reports the Shelby Star. The state Judicial Standards Commission ” views…

Sep 23, 2010 4:49 PM CDT

Fla. Appeals Court Strikes Down Gay Adoption Ban

A Florida appeals court has approved a gay lawyer’s adoption plans in an opinion striking down the state’s ban on homosexual adoptions. The court ruled in an adoption case brought by lawyer Frank Martin Gill, the Associated Press and the Miami Herald report. Gill and his partner wanted to adopt…

Sep 22, 2010 4:30 PM CDT

Bingham Partner Admits Changing Key Word in Signed Dodgers Document

A partner at Bingham McCutchen testified Tuesday in the divorce trial of Dodgers owner Frank McCourt that he changed a key word in a postnup property agreement after the McCourts had signed it. Bingham partner Larry Silverstein changed the word “exclusive” to “inclusive” to indicate that Frank McCourt was sole…

Sep 22, 2010 1:42 PM CDT

Lawyer and His Wife Explain Why They Gave Up Their Adopted Daughter

Chicago-area lawyer Craig Gertz and his wife, Lori, are going public about their painful decision to give up an adopted child whose mental health issues were so severe they feared their family was at risk. They hope their story will raise awareness and lead to more resources for children with…

Sep 21, 2010 3:48 PM CDT