Almost every client that walks through my door wants to know how quickly his or her divorce will last and how much it is going to cost. The best answer that I can generally give is, “it depends.” It depends on you and your spouse, it depends on the other lawyer, it depends on the
During the current football free agent season, you hear the pundits frequently say that if you get a free agent that you want to sign in your building, don’t let him leave without a deal. Why? You don’t want them to get wooed by some other team or have second thoughts. How does this apply
We have heard over and over that settlement ranks high in the public policy of this state and know from experience how the system is geared toward settlement. In particular, there is mandatory custody mediation, mandatory Early Settlement Panels (MESP), mandatory economic mediation, Blue Ribbon Settlement Panels, intensive settlement conferences (ISPs or ISCs depending on
B.M. – that is before the Minkowitz decision that we previously blogged on (which lead to a second post on arbitration best practices), it was common practice at the start of an arbitration, just like it is common practice before the start of a trial, to take one last crack at trying a case.
Given the shortage of judges, backlog in the system and the rash of new judges, alternative dispute resolution has been coming more and more prevalent in the divore cases. For as long as I can remember, custody and parenting time mediation and Early Settlement Panels have been mandatory in New Jersey. For the last decade,
Last year, I wrote on this blog about “How to Not Settle Your Case.” This case on the heels of several months of “interesting”, to say the least, negotiations on several matters which got me thinking about creating a list of things to do if you really don’t want to settle your case.
Last week, I posted about the new Supreme Court case regarding enforcing settlements reached at mediation. That case made clear that a settlement that is reached at mediation but not reduced to a signed written agreement will not be enforceable. Simple enough right.
*Image Courtesy of PhotoExpress.
But what is a writing. The Court
At divorce attorneys, we all have had this happen to us. We go to a mediation, spend all day negotiation, finally come to a settlement, and leave thinking that the matter is resolved, but for the formalities. Then a few days or weeks later, one or both sides backs away from the deal. You want
Several years ago, I posted a blog entitled "Some Times You Just Have to Try a Case." In that post, I discussed that there are some times where a litigant simply refuses to settle making a trial inevitable. Are there times, however, when a trial might be less costly, quicker and preferable to long, drawn
Having just experienced several months of "interesting", to say the least, negotiations on several matters, it got me thinking about creating a list of things to do if you really don’t want to settle your case. Hey, every body is entitled to their day in court if they want it. So what if there is