Archive: 2013

If the legal system cannot police itself, is it any wonder lawyers have such little respect by the public?

Recently, the ABA published a book by a family law attorney about her own divorce. This raises the question: Does it help or hurt if the attorney himself or herself is divorced?

My column in today’s Wisconsin Law Journal is about my office’s third compilation of statistics about collaborative divorce cases.

Criminal law cases shows the “junk science” nature of the video “expert.”

Wouldn’t it be nice if there were an organization in which professionals from the family-law bar, mental-health providers and the courts come together in an effort to share information? That’s what The Association of Family and Conciliation Courts is all about.

While some appellate arguments can be mundane and boring, others, especially at the U.S. Supreme Court level, present the legal system at its best: A high level discussion of how the law affects society and should be used to improve the world we live in.

At first blush, a court of appeals case which is not recommended for publication, but may be cited, presents the common and troublesome issue of a child making choices. Upon closer reading, however, the case is much simpler.

Here is a look at the good, not-so-good and downright worst court opinions of the past year.