This little film is an excellent example to show your estate planning clients of why their estate plan, i.e., will, is in tip-top shape. Admittedly, however, none of us at Bitter Lawyer are estate planning attorneys, so it may have been the case that even if Mama had had a solid plan in place, it would not have mattered. Any estate planners out there want to chime in about what legal effects her actions would have on her estate? Criminal lawyers?
No need to watch Gossip Girl or 90210 to get your drama fix. Open up your family law case book to get all the sex drama you can handle.
I have a friend who’s nearly finished with his first year of business school. He’s in the best MBA program in the nation. For anonymity’s sake, I won’t mention what program, but you’re smart. You’ll figure it out.
Anywho, I’ve done a handful of small legal jobs for him—all for free. I figure one day when I have my own firm, he’ll send me some real business. These prosaic legal services are loss-leaders. An investment. There’s usually no brain surgery involved. It’s just small-claims odds and ends, traffic stuff. Simple things. And, most recently, family law.
Hold the GD phone. It’s not that what he wanted was difficult. It’s what it represented.
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Say it ain’t so! Despite our initial skepticism, reports have confirmed the truly unimaginable: Britney Spears has stiffed her lawyers. Court documents have shown that the fallen pop star recently racked up almost half a million dollars’ worth of legal bills in her custody dispute with ex-husband Kevin Federline—in addition to the quarter mil she’s already agreed to pay to his attorneys.
The lawyer with the biggest gripe against Spears is apparently Stacy D. Phillips, who states in court filings that she is owed nearly $407,000 for four months of work—after, she claims, already writing off $125,000 in fees for the singer. The Los Angeles court commissioner has yet to approve any payments to Phillips or the other jilted lawyers, and, in another shocking twist, the attorneys currently representing Spears have indicated that they “intend to contest Phillips’ bill.”
Hm, good call. One quick question for the new attorneys, though: Ever hear of a thing called precedent? Might be worth looking into—just ask these guys. [HuffPost]
In reports that have surely sent a ripple of anticipation through the halls of law libraries nationwide, it has just been announced that Alec Baldwin’s new authoritative text on family law, “A Promise to Ourselves,” is set to hit the shelves September 23. Billed as a practical text on the topic of “family relationships,” Baldwin’s publisher explains that “using a very personal approach, he offers practical guidance to help others avoid the anguish he has endured.” Topics examined in the book apparently include prenuptial agreements, divorce strategies, attorneys, mediation versus trial, custody and visitation how-tos, co-parenting, and the political influence on the family law system.
And what, you may be wondering, necessarily qualifies the actor to write a practical guide on family law, aside from, of course, recently breaking up with practicing attorney Nicole Seidel and playing a prosecutor in the 1996 hit film, Ghosts of Mississippi? Well, according to his publisher, he has been “extensively involved in divorce litigation, and he has witnessed the way that noncustodial parents, especially fathers, are often forced to abandon hopes of equitable rights when it comes to their children.”
Hm. While we have no doubt that Baldwin is no stranger to the ins and outs of all things divorce-related, we can’t help but wonder when actors everywhere will please just stop pretending they’re experts on things they don’t actually understand. It’s bad enough that we have to suffer through their ramblings on politics; now we have to hear how they’re legal experts, too? Please, for the love of god, just stick to what you know. And in case you were wondering, no, having a heart attack doesn’t make you a thoracic surgeon, either. [Macmillan and NY Post]
