Jacqueline Newman - New York City Divorce Lawyer

Just how much of Harold Hamm’s fortune was amassed through his skill and hard work?

That was a key question that Oklahoma divorce judge Howard Haralson had to weigh in his decision last week, when he ordered Hamm, the chief executive officer of Continental Resources – and Oklahoma’s richest person – to hand over more than $1 billion in cash and assets to his ex-wife in one of the largest-ever U.S. divorce judgments.

Haralson awarded Sue Ann Hamm just 6 percent of the $18 billion fortune her lawyers say the couple had amassed at the start of the divorce trial in August.

The highly anticipated divorce trial of billionaire hedge fund manager Ken Griffin and his wife, Anne Dias Griffin, appears headed where most divorce trials end up — in a settlement.

Griffin and Dias Griffin returned to the negotiating table on the day the trial was scheduled to begin.

Getting a lawyer seems like such a grownup thing to do but in case you hadn’t noticed, you are a grownup with a career, making real money, starting business ventures, making life changes and therefore you may need a lawyer. But how does one go about finding a lawyer?  Is it just a Google search thing or what? And what can a lawyer really do for you?

Family Law proceedings can be both mentally and financially draining which is why we spoke with six experts from around the world to acquire their advice on issues such as drafting child support, deciding whether court or dispute resolution is the most appropriate method and contemporary matters including the role of the media in family courts and the use of private investigators or spying tactics.

One of the most common complaints my clients voice is disappointment with their matrimonial attorneys.  After suffering a breach of trust and having a central relationship deteriorate, divorcees many times find themselves in an unhealthy relationship with one of the most important people in their present life, their attorney.  There are often  issues of miscommunication, mistrust and misunderstanding.  When you are struggling to put your life back together and navigate a world that seems foreign to you, you want to insure that your ‘partner’, your attorney is a good fit.

The most difficult type of client to work with are those that are so angry at their spouse that they are unable to see how that anger and their reaction to that anger is hurtful to their children and ultimately to their case. I talk a lot to the clients that are having that experience and attempt to make them understand how the anger they are currently feeling is temporary, while the effects of this anger can be permanent. I joke with clients that “I am their most expensive therapist.” I also advise clients (in a less joking manner) that if they continue to involve the children in their anger, they should factor in the cost of lifetime therapy bills for their children and themselves when calculating the cost of their divorce.