I smell like strong black coffee. I have spent three decades watching people burn their lives down in family court because they believed the law cared about their feelings. It does not. I recently spent 14 hours deconstructing a parenting plan that was designed to be unreadable, only to find the one clause that changed…
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The conference room smelled like ozone and mint. My client, a father terrified for his daughter, sat across from a opposing counsel who smelled like cheap cigars and desperation. I watched a client lose their entire claim in the first ten minutes of a deposition because they ignored one simple rule about silence. He started…
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Grandparent Visitation Rights and the Reality of Divorce Litigation I watched a client lose their entire claim in the first ten minutes of a deposition because they ignored one simple rule about silence. She was fighting a bitter custody battle. Her mother, the grandmother, decided to interject with a story about the father that was…
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I smell like strong black coffee and the disappointment of three hundred failed mediations. I watched a client lose their entire claim in the first ten minutes of a deposition because they ignored one simple rule about silence. They thought they were being helpful by explaining the logistics of their birdnesting arrangement. Instead, they admitted…
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The air in my office always smells like strong black coffee because the truth is usually bitter and requires a jolt to wake people up. I am the guy who tells you your case is failing before you even sit down. You think your ex-spouse is a drunk or an addict, and you think the…
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I recently spent 14 hours deconstructing a contract that was designed to be unreadable, only to find the one clause that changed everything for a father fighting for his son’s heart surgery. The document was a masterpiece of obfuscation, hidden in 150 pages of legal boilerplate. Most parents think a standard divorce decree covers medical…
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The deposition disaster that cost a parent everything I watched a client lose their entire claim in the first ten minutes of a deposition because they ignored one simple rule about silence. They volunteered information about a future weekend trip to a neighboring state that had not been cleared through the proper channels. The defense…
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I watched a client lose their entire claim in the first ten minutes of a deposition because they ignored one simple rule about silence. It was a cold Tuesday morning. The air in the conference room was stagnant. My client, a father who looked perfect on paper, felt the need to fill the void. He…
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I watched a client lose their entire claim in the first ten minutes of a deposition because they ignored one simple rule about silence. They felt the need to fill the void, explaining away gaps in their digital logs that didn’t need explaining. In the high-stakes world of family law, your mouth often sabotages what…
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I watched a client lose their entire claim in the first ten minutes of a deposition because they ignored one simple rule about silence. Your children are your silence. In the theater of a high-stakes divorce, the custody evaluator is the lead critic. I sit here with my black coffee, looking at files of parents…
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