Father Ordered to Keep Daughter from His Catholic Faith

A family law court in Chicago recently ordered Joseph Reyes not to expose his three-year-old daughter to his Catholic faith. He and his ex-wife decided to raise their three-year-old daughter in the mother’s Jewish faith. The mother asked for a temporary restraining order against Reyes that went beyond; the order kept the father from exposing his daughter to any other faith except the mother’s faith. Before the court order, Reyes had already had his daughter baptized.

As an attorney who specializes in family law, this order is quite unusual. However, when a family court, or any other court for that matter, issues an order, it should be strictly followed. But in the first place, family law courts should not issue orders based on the religious upbringings of children, or from preventing the non-custodial parent from exposing his child to the non-custodial parent’s faith.

The court’s order creates problems, due to the fact that it is based on two different religions that are extremely complex in their own ways. This order is too black-and-white for a situation that is too vague and complicated.

Run, lawyer, run! Family Law Attorney goes Gump

See, even lawyers can think outside of the box! What's a good way to get the attention of your local district court and its citizens when you want to be the next judge? Run for the election!

No, seriously. Run for it. Get your ass out there, rock those short shorts, and haul yourself across the entire god damn county. And do it with a smile!

Brad Morris, a distinguished family law attorney, mediator, and former associate judge (and apparently passionate long-distance runner) is making a statement this election season by literally running for Judge. His reasoning behind actually makes sense too. He's out there to get a solid sense of the county, its layout, its citizens, and its needs. He welcomes all citizens of Harris County to stop and say hello, letting people know when he'll be running and what routes he'll be taking.

What a trooper. I hope the guy makes it. If I ran for Judge...well, I'd just sit on my ass and have someone make me commercials. Go Morris!

You are a Family Attorney, Not a Marriage Counselor

Despite (good) Attorneys being able to persuade someone to see things from their point of view (or the point of view of their client), it is a different story when they are trying to get two separate people to come to an agreement. Particularly when the Attorney is not directly involved in that agreement.

Such is the case of the dreaded Mediation of divorcing marriages.

The purpose of mediation is to get the failing couple into the same room and negotiate who is going to get what when they separate. Hopefully, this is done without the use of any weapons, real or verbal. The problem is, Family Attorneys are trained in the intricate art of pillaging a wrecked life promise, not in the art of rebuilding rapport between two people who, quite possibly, have grown to genuinely hate one another.

A few reasons why immature couples can create mediation nightmares:

• The couple is so pissed at each other that they will not even speak, and if they are in the same room, the walls set on fire due to angry outbursts.



• One party is in so much denial over the divorce that they will absolutely refuse to cooperate, attempting to doom their mate to a true 'until death do we part' marriage of 'Oh my god, get over yourself you needy, pathetic prick/bitch.'



• One, and in more electric situations, both parties are having an affair, and that adds a third or fourth level of cat-fight or wrestling match inducing verbal manipulation.



• One party is being so stubborn that they are not open to shared custody rights to the poor children they are putting through this, with complete disregard to what would be best for them. This is usually because that party is simply pissed, or it’s 'inconvenient.' Yes, having your child was 'inconvenient.'

There is something called a collaborative divorce, and it is this mythical process where two fully-grown adults act maturely and recognize their marriage is ending, yet work in a civil manner to see that each party is looked after in the best way possible so they can move on with their lives with the least amount of stress and pain.

Yeah, those are pretty tough to come by. So, if you are a Family Attorney, and you cannot seem to find this holy grail of divorce situations, stick to what you are good at, and leave the mediation to someone who can actually mediate.

Like a therapist.