Tug of War: A judge testifies on family law By Michael Rappaport A comedian once joked that half of all marriages end in divorce, which isn't so terrible when you consider that the other half end in death. Going through a divorce can be as emotionally wrenching as grieving the death of a loved one, particularly when young children are trapped in the conflict zone between battling parents. Justice Harvey Brownstone's book, Tug of War: A
MorePassing it on to pets: Fat Cats and Lucky Dogs By Michael Rappaport When Leona Helmsley, the billionaire hotel heiress nicknamed "the Queen of Mean" by the media, died at age 87 in August 2007, she left behind a heap of trouble when she left "Trouble" a $12-million trust fund, and nothing for two of her grandchildren. Trouble was Helmsley's little Maltese dog and her most loyal companion, as she was estranged from her grandchildren
MoreThe plight of the Stoney Nation Memoirs of a maverick First Nations community judge By Michael Rappaport "Don't judge a man till you have walked two moons in his moccasins" - goes an old aboriginal saying. At the beginning of his career, retired Justice John Reilly presided over a jurisdiction that included a First Nations community west of Calgary that was plagued with addiction, crime, suicide, violence and corruption; the freshman judge confides he knew
MoreHow to get more: negotiation strategies for the real world By Michael Rappaport Negotiation skills are crucial for lawyers when representing clients in many situations, such as making business deals or working out settlements. Regrettably, the strategies taught in law schools?-?such as the BATNA (the Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement) methodology popularized in the book Getting to Yes?-?tend to work better in theory than practice. All too often the proponents of principled negotiation operate
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