I love looking back over the years (decades!) I’ve been practicing family law and thinking about all the clients whose lives I’ve touched and vice versa.  Some lightly, some intensely.  There’s a very rich texture to my professional life, filled with knowing so many...

Nuptials via Skype. Can it be done? Maybe, but who would want to?  One group which might is gay couples who live in states which don’t allow same sex marriage. A couple of months ago, two gay men had a wedding ceremony in their home town of Dallas in the decidedly...

What’s up with these people who are so crazed about airport body scanners? Brian Sodergren, the guy who’s leading the pack, says he cannot stand the thought of the TSA taking images of his eight and ten year old daughters. Don’t let the government intrude in precious...

I just finished a big trial. Big because it lasted for three days and big because the issues involved are new. New for me, new for opposing counsel, new for the court. What’s involved is the break-up of a same sex relationship of 22 years, and a claim for financial...

Some law firms go on summer outings to the Phillies. Some have barbecues or picnics. We closed the office early yesterday and took a field trip to the movies. We went to see The Kids Are All Right – a fabulous and funny drama about married lesbian moms, their...

Summer is in full humid sticky lazy force. Traffic is light on the way to work. The evenings are long and social. Court dates are continued due to vacation schedules. Opposing counsel will get back to you a week from Tuesday instead of tomorrow. In the world of civil...

I was talking to a cousin of mine at a family gathering over Memorial Day weekend, and the conversation turned to her adoption, as a girl, by her step-father. My cousin’s father had died when she was very young and her mother remarried a man who adopted her. Sounds...

When I was a baby lawyer, judges were the embodiment of authority: unapproachable white men at least two generations older than me who probably didn’t even have first names. Today, I often walk into court and someone who looks just like the girlfriend I had drinks...

Suppose your four year old tells you something very bad about their other parent. Suppose you completely believe what your child has told you. Suppose your child will not repeat what he told you to anyone else. Can you tell a judge what your child said? In general,...

Recently, a client I like a lot invited me to a party celebrating the one year anniversary of her divorce. That was a first for me, but I went and had a great time. It made me think about the issue of friendship with clients. When I represent a client in a divorce, I...

Okay, so it’s a little late, but here I am, inaugurating a blog about family law as I live and breathe it. My resolution for 2010 is to share stories from the trenches and ideas from the tower about the practice of family law in Philadelphia at this particular time on...