Why I no longer accept service of rules to show cause
Posted Saturday, April 2nd, 2011 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Attorney-Client Relations, Contempt/Enforcement of Orders, Litigation Strategy, Not South Carolina Specific, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys
Yesterday two different attorneys asked me about accepting service on behalf of a client for rules to show cause. While I will routinely accept service
(Don’t) throw me in the briar patch
Posted Saturday, March 19th, 2011 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Litigation Strategy, Not South Carolina Specific, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys
It’s a shame that Joel Chandler Harris’ Uncle Remus books are considered racist nowadays due to their trickster tales and use of plantation-era African American
Revealing or shielding a family court attorney’s itemized statement of time spent
Posted Saturday, March 19th, 2011 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Attorney's Fees, Litigation Strategy, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Specific
An attorney’s itemized statement of time spent on a case can be a valuable piece of information for an opposing party and that party’s attorney.
Mexican standoff: South Carolina Family Court version
Posted Wednesday, March 9th, 2011 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Child Custody, Divorce and Marriage, Litigation Strategy, Of Interest to General Public, South Carolina Specific
My client, the wife, was caught in flagrant adultery. Husband filed for divorce and filed a motion for temporary relief seeking custody of the children
When attacking the opposing party is counterproductive
Posted Monday, March 7th, 2011 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Divorce and Marriage, Litigation Strategy, Not South Carolina Specific, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, Visitation
Perhaps because the legal process involves the resolution of conflict, and because conflict requires parties to be in opposition, folks involved in litigation reflexively believe
Posted Sunday, March 6th, 2011 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Litigation Strategy, Not South Carolina Specific, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys
Early in any family law attorney’s practice, that attorney will begin developing an agreement go-by that contains language common to all agreements that attorney drafts.
Sandbagging opposing counsel: don’t do it
Posted Monday, February 28th, 2011 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Litigation Strategy, Not South Carolina Specific, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys
A colleague came to me today seeking advice. Opposing counsel had served her client with a rule to show cause but the service hadn’t been
Making the defendant testify in the plaintiff’s case-in-chief
Posted Saturday, February 12th, 2011 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Litigation Strategy, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Specific
I have never understood the general preference of litigants and attorneys to be the plaintiff in family court proceedings. “You get to go first,” is
Collecting child (or spousal) support from actual dead deadbeats
Posted Thursday, February 10th, 2011 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Child Support, Litigation Strategy, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Specific
Due to recent changes in the law, it has become much easier to collect back child support from a deceased deadbeat’s estate. Here’s how to
Playing the jerk to encourage dispute resolution
Posted Saturday, January 22nd, 2011 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Guardians Ad Litem, Litigation Strategy, Not South Carolina Specific, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys
Sometimes a guardian ad litem can assist resolution of a custody dispute by doing things that initially make the parents unhappy. This won’t render the
