Divorce and Attorneys

Law school opens free divorce court services to qualifying citizens

2007-02-08T02:17:00.000-08:00

The Texas Tech School of Law has partnered with Associate Judge Judy Parker to offer free legal services one night a month to qualifying individuals seeking a divorce. The first clinic was held Jan. 18 with four cases, and the Feb. 15 clinic is already booked with 10 cases, said Nancy Mojica, the equal-justice volunteer program coordinator at Legal Aid of Northwest Texas. "Right now we're trying to limit ourselves to 10 a month," she said. "We're wanting to take more, but we want to see how it works out." Individuals wishing to get legal aid at the clinics must first contact Mojica to be screened through Legal Aid of Northwest Texas. "We are starting with no children and little-to-no property," Parker said. "We would like to expand it, but you have to start somewhere." Mojica said those who are interested should contact her at Legal Aid of Northwest Texas immediately to start the screening process.

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Zachary Witman's attorneys seek new trial

2007-02-06T02:19:00.000-08:00

A world-renowned forensic expert testified Friday morning that closer examination of physical evidence might have helped the defense in the fratricide trial of Zachary Witman. Dr. Henry C. Lee reviewed forensic reports and portions of trial testimony, but did not look at any physical evidence collected from the crime scene, he said. Still, based on the reports, he said he would have advised defense counsel to have certain evidence -- including DNA and soil samples -- examined more closely. "That's what an expert is for -- to explore any area of possibility," Lee said. Lee has been involved in more than 6,000 crime investigations, including the Nicole Brown Simpson and JonBenet Ramsey murder cases, as well as war crimes in Bosnia .

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Celebrity Divorce Attorney Gives Tips to See if Your Valentine Is ...

2007-02-02T02:19:00.000-08:00

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- There is nothing more exciting than Valentine's Day as the day for making that long term commitment with your mate -- whether you're moving in together or tying the knot. But wait! How can you tell if the person you think is right for you is really right for you? Stacy Phillips, celebrity divorce attorney and author of Divorce: It's All About Control -- How To Win the Emotional, Psychological or Legal Wars says to ask the following questions, answers to which will help you determine if your likes and dislikes, needs and wants, are compatible with those of your significant other. Phillips also suggests you answer these additional questions to size up the compatibility factor: How does your mate handle a crisis? Behave in public places? Treat your friends and family, and you? If you are in love -- if you've finally met Mr.

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Bank robbery suspect said to have divorce on his mind

2007-01-31T02:18:00.000-08:00

PASADENA - A middle-aged man citing divorce is being sought in connection with at least five recent area bank robberies, including one earlier this month in Pasadena. The "Irreconcilable Differences Bandit," a clean-shaven white man with a medium build and close-cropped salt-and-pepper hair, is believed responsible for robbing five banks in the Southland since Dec. 22. In at least one robbery, the man approached the counter and told the teller he was going through a divorce and needed help wiring money so his wife's attorney wouldn't find out. He then passed the teller a note demanding money, and said he had a gun and bomb, according to the FBI. He has brandished a revolver in at least one robbery, according to witness reports. Authorities believe he is responsible for robbing the Bank of America, 880 E.

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Attorneys Davis Polk Advises Bonnier on Its Acquisition of Time4 ...

2007-01-29T02:20:00.000-08:00

LAWFUEL - US Business & Law - Davis Polk &Wardwell is advising Bonnier AB on its acquisition, through its U.S. subsidiary Bonnier US Holding Inc. of Time4 Media, Inc. and The Parenting Group Inc. from Time Inc. Bonnier is a 200-year-old Swedish media company with operations in more than 20 countries. Time4 Media and The Parenting Group are publishers of special interest magazines, including Field & Stream, Outdoor Life, Yachting, Popular Science, MotorBoating, Parenting and Babytalk. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The Davis Polk corporate team includes partner Phillip R. Mills and associates Aly El Hamamsy, Anthony Feo, Benjamin H. Klein and Shawn Thomas Richards (not yet admitted). Partner Barbara Nims and associates Bernice A. Grant and Tamar Y.

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California Divorce Attorney Posted By : Steve C.

2007-01-23T02:22:00.000-08:00

California has tens of thousands of California attorneys or California lawyers registered with the State Bar of California. California divorce attorneys or California divorce lawyers may practice in the Northern California region or Southern California region. With so many attorneys practicing law in California, how do you find the right California divorce attorney or California divorce lawyer who can help you with your particular divorce case and/or child custody case? .

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More couples divorce later in life

2007-01-21T02:22:00.000-08:00

A couple in their 90s who had decided to divorce sought the advice of a lawyer. "You've been married so long," said the lawyer. "Why on earth would you split up now?""We were waiting for the kids to die," came the reply. Call it "late-life divorce black humor." And in a surprising number of cases, call it not so far from the truth, says author Deirdre Blair, who says she heard variations on the story from lawyers, family members and divorcing seniors themselves while researching her book, "Calling It Quits: Late Life Divorce and Starting Over," which will be published Jan. 30 by Random House.Blair interviewed more than 400 ex-wives and ex-husbands, who ranged in age from 50 to 83 and had ended marriages that had lasted anywhere from 20 to 60 years. She also talked to adult children of older divorced parents.

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Bush tries to terrorize Guantanamo attorneys

2007-01-19T02:23:00.000-08:00

Charles D. Stimson, the Bush administration’s deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainee affairs, would seem to have been reading his Shakespeare. Last week this Orwellian anonymity emulated Dick the Butcher, who in Act IV, Scene 2, of “Henry VI, Part 2,” bellows to his fellow rogues: “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers!” Mr. Stimson last Thursday expressed his distress at the legal aid being offered pro bono to the hundreds of “detainees” at Guantanamo Bay by attorneys from leading law firms around the country, and proposed — urged — a big-business boycott of any and all such law firms. His chosen method of execution of the offending lawyers is, well, starvation. Selective starvation. “I think, quite honestly,” Mr.

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Study: Nature Of Fights Between Spouses May Predict Divorce

2007-01-15T02:26:00.000-08:00

Waco, TX (AHN) - The nature of fights between spouses may reveal whether the couple will stay together or go for divorce, a study said. The research, conducted by Baylor University researchers, mainly focused on the factors that determined whether a person would use positive or negative communication during an argument. Describing the results of study, lead researcher Keith Sanford said: "There is a notion that all negative emotion is bad and we found that simply isn't the case." "As humans, we are very sensitive to is this person going to fight against me or cooperate with me. If you say more things that signal that you willing to cooperate, that can make all the difference," Sanford added. .

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Legal News Line examines state attorneys-general, supreme courts

2007-01-13T02:19:00.000-08:00

Legal News Line (LNL) is a brand new information service providing daily, national news coverage of state attorneys-general and state supreme courts. Today, our states' top cops -- attorneys-general -- are playing an increasingly activist role in their aggressive stands against insurance companies, auto makers and utility companies. Suing big business has become a routine means of accomplishing what cannot otherwise be done legislatively. Of course, when anti-business legislation is enacted, some attorneys-general stand and cheer. For instance, Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann on Monday commended new Gov. Ted Strickland's veto of a bill that would have limited lawsuits against lead-pigment manufacturers. Our state supreme courts are also getting in on the act.

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Woman protecting sons from Islam charges divorce court rules broken

2007-01-09T02:26:00.000-08:00

Judicial ethics complaints are being filed against a Tennessee judge by a woman battling her Muslim husband in a divorce case she fears could leave her teen sons at the mercy of violent Islamic jihadists and a lawyer who was asked to take notes in the case. The woman, Rosaline Ghawji, is seeking a divorce from her husband, prominent Memphis doctor Maher Ghawji, because she alleges he has "ties to terrorism [and] has threatened to kill her and her two boys if they did not abide by radical Islamic doctrine," according to a statement from her general counsel's office. The statement from that office alleged Judge Donna Fields of Circuit Court in Shelby County for the state's 13th Judicial District "grossly violated" the Canons of Judicial Ethics. A lawyer who was hired to take notes at her divorce trial also is filing a complaint after Judge Fields ordered him out of the audience and onto the stand to testify in the divorce case.

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Law firm unveils new name and attorneys

2007-01-07T02:26:00.000-08:00

Smith, Shaw & Maddox, a more than century-old law firm practicing in Rome and Cedartown, announced last week a plan to restructure the company and change its name. Effective immediately, the firm will practice under the name McRae, Stegall, Peek, Harman, Smith & Manning LLP — named after the current senior partners. Founded in 1899, the firm had operated for many years under the names of former longtime firm principals Oscar Smith, Charles Shaw and J.D. Maddox. In addition to the name change, the firm has added two new full-time attorneys and taken on one of its former attorneys as counsel to the firm. After years of affiliation with Zartic, Jackson Baldwin Harris is back working as counsel with the law firm. “Jack Harris is a talented attorney who has had a unique career experience for our region,” said Jo H.

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Do-It-Yourself Divorce May Not Finalize Deal

2007-01-03T02:29:00.000-08:00

LOS ANGELES -- Rising legal fees, fewer legal aid services and a do-it-yourself mentality are driving more Californians to handle their own divorces, but sometimes not very successfully. Court officials and legal experts worry that tens of thousands of former California couples don't realize their divorces weren't finalized after they tried to end their marriages. Many more, officials say, simply let their cases languish because they're stumped by complex paperwork and court procedures. "People just don't get it done. They don't know how to get it done," said L.A. County Superior Court Judge Mark Juhas. "That's troubling. There are legal ramifications to continuing to be married." .

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Attorneys try to save cop-killer's life with legal maneuvers

2007-01-01T02:22:00.000-08:00

In an all-out bid to save his life, lawyers for convicted cop killer Ronell Wilson have moved to prevent prosecutors from highlighting the victims' status as police officers during the penalty phase of the trial and to exclude evidence on the defendant's alleged membership in the Bloods gang. Wilson, 24, of Stapleton, was convicted Dec. 20 of murdering Detectives Rodney J. Andrews and James V. Nemorin on March 10, 2003, in Tompkinsville. The undercover officers were posing as gun buyers when Wilson shot them execution-style in their unmarked car. The penalty phase will begin Jan. 10 in Brooklyn federal court. The same anonymous jury of seven men and five women that convicted Wilson of 10 crimes, including murder in aid of racketeering, robbery conspiracy, attempted robbery and carjacking, will decide whether to impose a death sentence or a term of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

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Divorce and new beginnings for you and your kids

2006-12-28T02:24:00.000-08:00

New beginnings and resolutions are echoed across the world as we begin a new year in January 2007. For families of divorce and separation, new beginnings occur year round. As Einstein once said, "In the midst of Difficulty lies Opportunity." Take advantage of the opportunity of your new beginning. Prioritizing the best interests of children and family members as you plan to rebuild for a healthy and successful future is the best resolution for new beginnings any time of year. Mapping out a blueprint of where you are now, and where you would like your family to be, can be overwhelming in the midst of a redefining family, but is absolutely attainable and can be managed with these simple steps. You will be surprised to see how each component interacts with the other. .

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Fulbright’s Attorneys in Middle East Highly Ranked by Chambers Global

2006-12-26T02:25:00.000-08:00

The Chambers Global guide for 2007 describes Fulbright's Middle East attorneys as an "experienced, responsive and high-quality" team on the ground that is part of a "leading global outfit, with particular strength in the energy sector." Nearly a dozen of Fulbright's practice areas from Asia to the United Kingdom were held out by Chambers for exceptional work. Among the practice areas that caught the attention of the Chambers researchers were the firm's international arbitration, intellectual property, energy and dispute resolution work. Eleven of the firm's attorneys were individually recognized in Chambers Global, including Mark Bisch in the firm's Dubai office. The Chambers researchers said Bisch and others Fulbright attorneys in the Middle East practice offer "that extra personal touch." Fulbright's International Practice Group is made up of more than 130 lawyers, who provide a range of services on international transactional, commercial, financial, investment and dispute resolution matters.

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Former Doors Drummer Files For Divorce

2006-12-15T02:23:00.000-08:00

Los Angeles, CA (AHN) - John Densmore, the former drummer of the rock band the Doors, has filed for divorce from his wife of 16 years, documentary filmmaker Leslie Frances Neal, according to papers filed Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court. AP reports that the papers said, Densmore, 62, cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for the divorce. He was seeking joint custody of their teenage daughter, Luka. Densmore has been working on multiple theater and writing projects since the Doors disbanded in 1973, two years after the 1971 death of the band's lead singer, Jim Morrison. Densmore wrote an autobiography about the Doors called "Riders on the Storm." He has also helped Neal produce "Juvies" and "Road to Return," both documentaries. .

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Microsoft: Attorneys' 're-view' policy ridiculous

2006-12-13T02:26:00.000-08:00

A Microsoft lawyer argued Tuesday that three expert witnesses should be barred from testifying in the Iowa class-action suit against Microsoft because plaintiffs lawyers have repeatedly failed to provide documents related to the witnesses testimony. Polk County District Court Judge Scott Rosenberg ordered the lawyers to turn over the documents or he might decide to ban the witnesses. The three witnesses are Janet Netz and Jeffrey Macki-Mason, a husband and wife team who operate Applied Economic Consulting, a litigation support business, and Roger Noll, a technology and economics professor at Stanford University. The three are expected to be called to help jurors determine economic damages, which the plaintiffs lawyers say total as much as $330 million.

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Attorney: Divorce key in officer's case

2006-12-09T02:26:00.000-08:00

Divorce proceedings filed by a Desert Hot Springs police officer accused of sexual assaulting his own child could play a key role in his trial, the officer's attorney said Tuesday. "These allegations were not made until after the divorce was filed, so that's highly suspect," said attorney John Patrick Dolan. "So we're looking at the significance that might play: Why the allegations came forward after the divorce was filed." The divorce was filed Aug. 14. The officer was arrested Sept. 28. The prosecution, however, said the divorce filing will not be an issue because the 49 counts of sexual assault against him are alleged to have occurred as far back as 1996. "The evidence will demonstrate that the divorce has absolutely no bearing on any of this," said Deputy District Attorney Victoria Cameron, who is trying the case.

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Nigeria: Cleric Flays High Divorce Rate in Yobe

2006-12-07T02:26:00.000-08:00

The divorce rate in Yobe State has reached a new high, a respected Friday prayer leader has said. Commissioner for Religious Affairs, Ustaz Hudu Mohammed has expressed dismay over what he described as the high level of divorce cases among Muslims in the state. Speaking in Damaturu, Ustaz Mohammed said husbands are divorcing their wives in higher numbers. These men have neglected the teachings of Islam on Marriage, he said. He said: "For very insignificant reasons, men divorce their wives simply because they can afford to marry other women... many women have been made to become liabilities on their families owing to unnecessary divorce." Ustaz Hudu Mohammed described the situation as "completely unacceptable and grievous", maintaining that anyone who divorces their wives on "flimsy excuses" will be questioned by God in the hereafter.

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Maryland Attorneys Appeal Ruling Against Fair Share Health Care ...

2006-12-03T02:24:00.000-08:00

Attorneys for the state of Maryland on Thursday argued before a federal appeals court in defense of a law that would require Wal-Mart Stores to increase spending on health care for employees, the AP/Hampton Roads Daily Press reports (Chen Sampson, AP/Hampton Roads Daily Press, 11/30). The law, which was enacted on Jan. 12 but overturned in July by U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz, would require employers in Maryland with 10,000 or more employees to spend at least 8% of payroll costs on health care or contribute to a state fund for the uninsured. Wal-Mart would be the only employer in Maryland affected by the law. The Retail Industry Leaders Association, a retail industry group that includes Wal-Mart, in February filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Baltimore alleging that the Maryland law violates the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act, among other allegations.

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Celebrity Divorce Attorney/Author Offers Ten Holiday Tips for ...

2006-11-27T02:28:00.000-08:00

CENTURY CITY, Calif., Nov. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Stacy Phillips, Los Angeles celebrity divorce attorney and author of Divorce: It's All About Control - How To Win the Emotional, Psychological and Legal Wars, (www.controlyourdivorce.com) is concerned about those divorced couples with children who may play "divorce war games" with one another over the holidays -- using the kids as collateral damage. She offers them ten tips: .

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TV hostess Li Xiang confirms divorce

2006-11-25T02:25:00.000-08:00

BEIJING, Nov. 24 -- TV hostess Li Xiang announced in her blog Wednesday night that she has been divorced from jewelry tycoon Li Houlin for a while, the first confirmation from the couple following rumors they had split. Earlier this month, an anonymous man who claimed to be a staff member in Li Houlin's company revealed to the media that the couple's two-year marriage was in trouble. Later, photos and video clips showing Li Xiang dining with another man appeared in the domestic press. The TV star said she had told the truth in her blog because she could no longer stand people's quizzical looks and the rumors. "It's true that our marriage is over. I did not say anything earlier because I was afraid of appearing in tabloid headlines, and I didn't want to affect our day-to-day life." Li wrote: "We got married bravely, despite never-ending gossip around us, which I don't regret.

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One Marine pleads guilty as attorneys fight to keep another out of ...

2006-11-23T02:20:00.000-08:00

There was plenty of court action Tuesday in the Hamdaniya case, in which eight Camp Pendleton servicemen are charged with kidnapping and killing an Iraqi man last spring. In one courtroom on the base, Lance Cpl. Jerry Shumate Jr. received a sentence of 21 months after pleading guilty to aggravated assault and conspiracy to obstruct justice. The lesser charges are part of a plea deal that will allow him to receive a lighter sentence in exchange for his testimony against co-defendants. The judge had rendered a verdict of eight years in jail, but that was negated by Shumate's pretrial agreement with the government. Once Shumate finishes his sentence, he will be given a general discharge from the Marine Corps. In a nearby courtroom, Lance Cpl. Robert B. Pennington's arraignment continued for its second day.

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Sicka wasn't aware divorce was final, his attorney says

2006-11-21T02:19:00.000-08:00

Larry Sicka's wife got their divorce finalized four days before he allegedly stabbed to death his in-laws, but Sicka was unaware that the marriage was legally over, his attorney said. Belleville attorney Charlie Stegmeyer said he didn't find out until Monday that the divorce was final because the court did not notify him, something it should have done. "It might have changed the course of events," said Stegmeyer. Knowing about the hearing might have delayed the divorce and given Sicka some hope — or a chance to get help, he said. "You can speculate forever," Stegmeyer added. .

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