One of the biggest mistakes I see my family court colleagues making is forgoing the opportunity to present rebuttal (sometimes called reply) testimony. Rebuttal is the testimony the Plaintiff presents to rebut the testimony the Defendant presented in his or her case in chief. No attorney who handles family court appeals–and is presented with a […]
Archive for the ‘Not South Carolina Specific’ Category
Where are the Departments of Love?
Universities have Departments of Economics to study the allocation of scarce resources. They have Departments of Political Science to study power. Where are the Departments of Love? Last night I took my teenage daughter to a preview screening of Long Shot. Checking in on Facebook prior to the show, I noted, “I’m a very open […]
Outline of “Preparing for a Family Court Trial”
In August 2017, I lectured at the Charleston School of Law on “Preparing for a Family Court Trial.” The lecture outline has never been published. Some might consider it a handy trial preparation cheat sheet. Those who do are welcome to download it.
Defending the client’s deposition
An attorney tasked with defending a client’s deposition is doing most of the work prior to the deposition. While I have a frequently asked question on how a deponent should act at his or her deposition, the basic gist is: understand the question before you answer it; don’t lie; answer the question asked (but don’t […]
The Silver Anniversary of my law practice
Today, November 18, 2018, marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of opening my own law practice. It was a somewhat compelled decision that ended up being among the most consequential–and best–of my life. A quarter century of doing anything encourages reflection. This blog is my attempt to share insights into the path from hopeful-but-terrified greenhorn to contented […]
Better behaving clients
Earlier this week I received what may be one of the bigger complements of my career. A fellow member of the local family court bar was discussing two recent cases we’d had against each other. In both of these cases my clients had been represented by other attorneys prior to retaining me and in one […]
Even in South Carolina, corporal punishment is becoming highly problematic
When I first started practicing family law in South Carolina a quarter century ago, “Spare the Rod; Spoil the Child” was a biblically sanctioned cultural meme. Not only would family court judges approve of corporal punishment as a method of disciplining children, many believed that failing to use corporal punishment for a thoroughly misbehaving child […]
The pessimistic defendant’s attorney
I suspect I lose a lot of business by projecting a pessimistic outlook when first meeting with Defendants in family law cases. While many litigants prefer the primacy of being the Plaintiff, and thereby going first, I’ve never seen a clear advantage in trial to representing the Plaintiff or the Defendant. However experience teaches that […]