It was during my fifth meeting with a certain client that I noticed he had a massive book under his armpit with the tips of the pages all glossed. I could not see the binding. My guess was that he…
Parents who suffer a bitter break-up often struggle to communicate as well as they would like, or as their child may require. To the parents, this is a natural fact of life. After all, for every reaction there is an…
This morning during an otherwise routine divorce hearing in Providence County, so early in the day that the caffeine was still buzzing me, a strange and funny thing happened. My client, Plaintiff / wife (who, it must be said, was…
People first shopping for a family law attorney in their state never consider the value of a dolphin, everyone wants (or at least they think they want) a shark. Everyone wants a shark, right?! That’s how those moms in TV…
What follows is the worst fu*(&ng phone call from child custody clients (and that is really, really saying something): "My four-year-old told me she would rather live with me. So we don't need to go to court anymore and I win,…
I don’t know how attorneys get on with their clients in bankruptcy, criminal, or real estate closings, but in family court chances are you are not going to be lifelong besties with your attorney. And it’s not our fault. It’s…
A fellow Family Law attorney told the following anecdote, and I think it encapsulates the Family Court experience (n.b. “standing” means the right to bring a case, i.e. either parent of a child has standing to file a custody case…
In Family Court, the yelling lawyer is the losing lawyer. Any legal argument that can rest upon its own reason need not be screamed. It can be given at any decibel and be perfectly effective. Judges are not juries. Judges…
Many of us who are part of the Family Law section of the Rhode Island Bar Association are actually quite wonderful to one another. At least when the parties aren't looking. Most of the Family Law attorneys who practice everyday…
I had wonderful mentors when I first started practicing law. I was taught early on that, when it came to contested legal matters and the zealous advocacy of clients, a lawyer should always try the "honey and sugar" approach before…