That is a lot of self-congratulations at the Eighth Judicial District Court, especially for an organization that is generally inefficient, expensive, and not user-friendly.
Hallelujah. Why don't you tell us in advance that you plan to congratulate people who are supposedly the best of a terrible system so that we can talk about whether anyone involved with these travesties deserves recognition?
Guest
Anonymous
June 20, 2018 5:09 pm
I'm so sick of seeing these nut jobs abuse the family court system and get away with it. At least Hughes just got a slap on the wrist. She might not have said all the right things and handled it exactly perfect, but that mother was clearly alienating the child from the father. Parental alienation has well-documented and very detrimental effects on children. Hughes made the right call and it was in the best interest of the child.
11:07 AM. Totally agree with your statement. It's like that line from the movie, "Parenthood": They require you to get a license to buy a dog, a license to drive a car, even a license to catch a fish, but they will let any a**hole be a parent." I know totally paraphrased the quote but is totally applicable to our society. It appears that most kids are born out of wedlock to people who cannot afford the kids to begin with and are totally f*cked up in the head.
Parental alienation is very real. There was evidence in the underlying case of parental alienation. However what Rena did was abominable and so clearly outside of the lines. And having known Rena in private practice, had she been Mom's attorney, she also would have justifiably filed a Complaint. I have no idea what in the world she was thinking.
Lets not forget there are also two sides to the coin. One side is parental alienation, the reverse side is parental estrangement. The main difference between the sides is which parent is driving a wedge between the out parent and the child.
In many of the cases where parental alienation is alleged, the real cause of the breakdown of the parent/child relationship is either the acts/behavior/attitude/etc. of the out parent, or the combined effects of the acts/behavior/attitude/etc. of both parents. Its a distinct minority of cases where the blame is 100% on the parent that maintains a good relationship with the child.
Of course, like most things in our society, the parent with the poor relationship refuses to look into the mirror and see the things that they are doing to harm their relationship with their child. They take the easy out and claim it must be someone else that is doing it to them, they are always the victim. In the vast majority of cases I would say BS.. kids start from the point of wanting to love both parents. They normally pull away when you are doing something to push them away. The other parent can obviously exploit that to their own advantage, but if you act in ways that the kid wants to remain close, they will find ways to maintain that bond.
In a true alienation case, kids are very smart and resilient. Give them the love, and attention they desire and they will figure it out. It usually ultimately rebounds and destroys the relationship the alienating parent has with the child once the child figures out what is really going on.
@12:01 – abominable is a strong word in this case. The video was disturbing, but if you know anything about mom and the kid, you know that kid has been involved in theater and performance since she was a baby. That was a coached performance. Compare a few minutes of histrionics on a video with the lifetime of memories and the relationship she now has with her dad. Rena made a mistake in her handling of it, but I don't think it was THAT bad. Also consider the fact that mom is the one who released the video that is going to follow that kid around the rest of her life…long after she has outgrown this crap. All in all…family court is hell.
Family Court is Hell. Pinning a child down in a courtroom without parents or counsel is abominable and atrocious. So the child was coached what to say in a spontaneously called act by the Court? Yes it was THAT bad. You do not do that.
Guest
Anonymous
June 20, 2018 6:54 pm
I'm considering an in-house opportunity, but concerned that it might be too dull. I know it all depends on where I'm coming from and what the new job entails, but has anyone made the leap and completely regretted it?
I have second-thoughts all the time about the jump, such as thoughts while I am having dinner with my family at 6:00 p.m exactly how many more hours of billable work I would have had ahead of me in the office had I not made the leap.
Make a pro/con list. As painful as private practice can be, the wrong in-house gig can be a nightmare. Some gaming entities that will go unnamed (Caesars Entertainment, Venetian…) work their people like slaves and for the first several years you must punch of clock. You have to accrue time before you take vacation and have your ass in your seat a minimum of 8 hours a day. Private practice may be a bitch for billable time, but if you have a day where you just can't face the work – most of the time you can rearrange your schedule and just not go to work. If you're a parent, you can schedule around your kids and unless you're a baby associate no-one is paying attention to "vacation" unless you fall below the 1800 – 1950 billable hour range by year end. I almost went in-house twice. I have a friend who did go in-house and is looking to quit. I have another friend who is in-house and loves life. It's all about the company, the benefits, the schedule, etc. Thus my suggestion – make a pro con list. If you find you're burned out of actual private practice, and not just your firm – may be time for a change. When I thought I was done with private practice – turned out I was just done working with a bunch of greedy jackass lawyers who did not care about me or my growth as a lawyer and rainmaker. Good luck.
Just to add to 2:13's comments, some organizations do not appreciate attorneys (I know, how is that possible), and in-house attorneys are not respected or treated well. This may be hard for attorneys coming from a law firm where attorneys are at the top of the food chain.
I made the move once for more money and no billable hours, but it turned out that my boss was a nightmare. Also, the company had just started the local office, so it was a complete disaster. The extra money I was making was not worth the stress. I know some lawyers make tons of money going in house at a start company that succeeds, but some go bust too (all the while the lawyer is taking a lower salary in the hopes the stock options pay off). If you are joining an established in house department, and you can, talk to all of the other attorneys in the group to get their view of the office/home balance and other expectations.
Guest
Anonymous
June 20, 2018 10:30 pm
I practiced family law for many years and made a very, very good living (not like my PI friends, etc. but in the low hundreds of thousands per year). I just took a position as "contract corporate counsel" for $4,000 per month and have never been happier with my career. I work about 16 hours a week, it's easy work, now one is complaining about a child's haircut or blaming me because they tested positive for meth (while pregnant) and CPS took their other children. Of course, those early years of paying off my house etc. allow me to live this way. But in retrospect, knowing what I know now, I would have never worked all those hours, etc. it just wasn't worth it. I probably echo everyone that's a little older never wishing they would have worked more. My unsolicited advice to all my blogger friends – do what makes you happy and slow down.
So I went out on my own about 7 years ago and I've been practicing mostly family law, PI and bankruptcy. I don't regret it, but as more time goes by I find myself getting exhausted with it.
Fortunately, I settled a PI case a few months ago for close to 8 figures. I'm paying off every cent of debt I have, but now I'm wondering what to do with myself. Because I have no desire anymore to do family law.
You've honestly made me think about finding a contract position. Did you find the job through connections or did you just apply to a position that was posted online?
Hi 5:41 – I heard that someone was leaving the position, I called the owner and pitched my idea, I explained the benefits that he would save on office, etc. and that I would treat him as my only client (which he is) but keep my status as outside counsel (one wants to avoid being a witness and too involved as one will almost always get sucked into resolving disputes or something if they are in the office too much), I told him I would update him constantly and we have a shared email so he can keep track of my communications, I work from my home office and like clock work I get my check twice a month, the work (compared to family law is fun!), it is basically basic business stuff, an employee has a question about vacation time, someone thinks we violated a K, a patent has to be reviewed, the work is varied, I love it, we also agreed that if it works he will take my pay up to what the previous person was making, in fact, although I do not want to take on too much he gave me a reference and I am thinking about doing it for one other company, forgive the nonsequential response but I'm texting on an old cell and the screen is about 1 inch wide haha – short story: at least for me it is a wonderful way to live and although the terms "mutually beneficial" is overused this is the very definition of it, maybe I'm burned out from family law but it is great to be appreciated with the opportunity to do exactly what I want – good luck to you my friend
In-house can either be the best gig ever or the worst – it all depends on who you report to (the CEO, the GC etc.) If you get along with those folks, its much better than law firm life. But, if you don't get along with those folks, it's brutal because you can't look to another partner for work like you could at a firm.
A pathetic loser that attacks families constantly online. Everything the troll writes is telling his own story. Deadbeat, drug addict, unemployed, broke 50 year old lives with his parents yet pretends to be some big deal acting like he needs to save family court judges. He is a con artist. Look at what he writes then anyone can see he's unstable and mentally ill. He goes to the court house and kicks in bathroom doors and plays with toilet handles. Yes, this is true, he posted a video of himself doing it online.
wow, is he an attorney? If not, what does he view his profession as i.e., journalist, blogger, like what does he think he is doing? Sincere question, I'm not Diciero
Sounds like @5:36p is a person that lost an election recently and a target of Diciero's recent disclosures of problems the election loser had in his past. Sounds like it may be a pot calling a kettle black though (and I'm not either side.)
That is a lot of self-congratulations at the Eighth Judicial District Court, especially for an organization that is generally inefficient, expensive, and not user-friendly.
Hallelujah. Why don't you tell us in advance that you plan to congratulate people who are supposedly the best of a terrible system so that we can talk about whether anyone involved with these travesties deserves recognition?
I'm so sick of seeing these nut jobs abuse the family court system and get away with it. At least Hughes just got a slap on the wrist. She might not have said all the right things and handled it exactly perfect, but that mother was clearly alienating the child from the father. Parental alienation has well-documented and very detrimental effects on children. Hughes made the right call and it was in the best interest of the child.
Thanks for your thoughts, Rena.
10:09 here…Not Rena. Just an attorney that practices in her court a lot. Thanks for your comment, troll. Have a fabulous Wednesday. xx
There are a lot more people who actually have children than there are people who are competent to raise children.
11:07 AM. Totally agree with your statement. It's like that line from the movie, "Parenthood": They require you to get a license to buy a dog, a license to drive a car, even a license to catch a fish, but they will let any a**hole be a parent." I know totally paraphrased the quote but is totally applicable to our society. It appears that most kids are born out of wedlock to people who cannot afford the kids to begin with and are totally f*cked up in the head.
Parental alienation is very real. There was evidence in the underlying case of parental alienation. However what Rena did was abominable and so clearly outside of the lines. And having known Rena in private practice, had she been Mom's attorney, she also would have justifiably filed a Complaint. I have no idea what in the world she was thinking.
Lets not forget there are also two sides to the coin. One side is parental alienation, the reverse side is parental estrangement. The main difference between the sides is which parent is driving a wedge between the out parent and the child.
In many of the cases where parental alienation is alleged, the real cause of the breakdown of the parent/child relationship is either the acts/behavior/attitude/etc. of the out parent, or the combined effects of the acts/behavior/attitude/etc. of both parents. Its a distinct minority of cases where the blame is 100% on the parent that maintains a good relationship with the child.
Of course, like most things in our society, the parent with the poor relationship refuses to look into the mirror and see the things that they are doing to harm their relationship with their child. They take the easy out and claim it must be someone else that is doing it to them, they are always the victim. In the vast majority of cases I would say BS.. kids start from the point of wanting to love both parents. They normally pull away when you are doing something to push them away. The other parent can obviously exploit that to their own advantage, but if you act in ways that the kid wants to remain close, they will find ways to maintain that bond.
In a true alienation case, kids are very smart and resilient. Give them the love, and attention they desire and they will figure it out. It usually ultimately rebounds and destroys the relationship the alienating parent has with the child once the child figures out what is really going on.
@12:01 – abominable is a strong word in this case. The video was disturbing, but if you know anything about mom and the kid, you know that kid has been involved in theater and performance since she was a baby. That was a coached performance. Compare a few minutes of histrionics on a video with the lifetime of memories and the relationship she now has with her dad. Rena made a mistake in her handling of it, but I don't think it was THAT bad. Also consider the fact that mom is the one who released the video that is going to follow that kid around the rest of her life…long after she has outgrown this crap. All in all…family court is hell.
Family Court is Hell. Pinning a child down in a courtroom without parents or counsel is abominable and atrocious. So the child was coached what to say in a spontaneously called act by the Court? Yes it was THAT bad. You do not do that.
I'm considering an in-house opportunity, but concerned that it might be too dull. I know it all depends on where I'm coming from and what the new job entails, but has anyone made the leap and completely regretted it?
I have second-thoughts all the time about the jump, such as thoughts while I am having dinner with my family at 6:00 p.m exactly how many more hours of billable work I would have had ahead of me in the office had I not made the leap.
Make a pro/con list. As painful as private practice can be, the wrong in-house gig can be a nightmare. Some gaming entities that will go unnamed (Caesars Entertainment, Venetian…) work their people like slaves and for the first several years you must punch of clock. You have to accrue time before you take vacation and have your ass in your seat a minimum of 8 hours a day. Private practice may be a bitch for billable time, but if you have a day where you just can't face the work – most of the time you can rearrange your schedule and just not go to work. If you're a parent, you can schedule around your kids and unless you're a baby associate no-one is paying attention to "vacation" unless you fall below the 1800 – 1950 billable hour range by year end. I almost went in-house twice. I have a friend who did go in-house and is looking to quit. I have another friend who is in-house and loves life. It's all about the company, the benefits, the schedule, etc. Thus my suggestion – make a pro con list. If you find you're burned out of actual private practice, and not just your firm – may be time for a change. When I thought I was done with private practice – turned out I was just done working with a bunch of greedy jackass lawyers who did not care about me or my growth as a lawyer and rainmaker. Good luck.
Just to add to 2:13's comments, some organizations do not appreciate attorneys (I know, how is that possible), and in-house attorneys are not respected or treated well. This may be hard for attorneys coming from a law firm where attorneys are at the top of the food chain.
I made the move once for more money and no billable hours, but it turned out that my boss was a nightmare. Also, the company had just started the local office, so it was a complete disaster. The extra money I was making was not worth the stress. I know some lawyers make tons of money going in house at a start company that succeeds, but some go bust too (all the while the lawyer is taking a lower salary in the hopes the stock options pay off). If you are joining an established in house department, and you can, talk to all of the other attorneys in the group to get their view of the office/home balance and other expectations.
I practiced family law for many years and made a very, very good living (not like my PI friends, etc. but in the low hundreds of thousands per year). I just took a position as "contract corporate counsel" for $4,000 per month and have never been happier with my career. I work about 16 hours a week, it's easy work, now one is complaining about a child's haircut or blaming me because they tested positive for meth (while pregnant) and CPS took their other children. Of course, those early years of paying off my house etc. allow me to live this way. But in retrospect, knowing what I know now, I would have never worked all those hours, etc. it just wasn't worth it. I probably echo everyone that's a little older never wishing they would have worked more. My unsolicited advice to all my blogger friends – do what makes you happy and slow down.
So I went out on my own about 7 years ago and I've been practicing mostly family law, PI and bankruptcy. I don't regret it, but as more time goes by I find myself getting exhausted with it.
Fortunately, I settled a PI case a few months ago for close to 8 figures. I'm paying off every cent of debt I have, but now I'm wondering what to do with myself. Because I have no desire anymore to do family law.
You've honestly made me think about finding a contract position. Did you find the job through connections or did you just apply to a position that was posted online?
Hi 5:41 – I heard that someone was leaving the position, I called the owner and pitched my idea, I explained the benefits that he would save on office, etc. and that I would treat him as my only client (which he is) but keep my status as outside counsel (one wants to avoid being a witness and too involved as one will almost always get sucked into resolving disputes or something if they are in the office too much), I told him I would update him constantly and we have a shared email so he can keep track of my communications, I work from my home office and like clock work I get my check twice a month, the work (compared to family law is fun!), it is basically basic business stuff, an employee has a question about vacation time, someone thinks we violated a K, a patent has to be reviewed, the work is varied, I love it, we also agreed that if it works he will take my pay up to what the previous person was making, in fact, although I do not want to take on too much he gave me a reference and I am thinking about doing it for one other company, forgive the nonsequential response but I'm texting on an old cell and the screen is about 1 inch wide haha – short story: at least for me it is a wonderful way to live and although the terms "mutually beneficial" is overused this is the very definition of it, maybe I'm burned out from family law but it is great to be appreciated with the opportunity to do exactly what I want – good luck to you my friend
In-house can either be the best gig ever or the worst – it all depends on who you report to (the CEO, the GC etc.) If you get along with those folks, its much better than law firm life. But, if you don't get along with those folks, it's brutal because you can't look to another partner for work like you could at a firm.
Who is Mark Diciero?
A pathetic loser that attacks families constantly online. Everything the troll writes is telling his own story. Deadbeat, drug addict, unemployed, broke 50 year old lives with his parents yet pretends to be some big deal acting like he needs to save family court judges. He is a con artist. Look at what he writes then anyone can see he's unstable and mentally ill. He goes to the court house and kicks in bathroom doors and plays with toilet handles. Yes, this is true, he posted a video of himself doing it online.
wow, is he an attorney? If not, what does he view his profession as i.e., journalist, blogger, like what does he think he is doing? Sincere question, I'm not Diciero
Sounds like @5:36p is a person that lost an election recently and a target of Diciero's recent disclosures of problems the election loser had in his past. Sounds like it may be a pot calling a kettle black though (and I'm not either side.)
6:00 here, just answered my own question by googling Mark Diciero and observing a heated word war between him and a Steve Sanson
Yes I read that too. He is not an attorney but charges people to do legal work. He trolls all these sites looking for suckers to pay him.
How is this guy not hit with UPL?
Sanson does not get hit with UPL; DiCiero does not get hit with UPL.
diabeetis