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The litigation system we inherited is not well-suited to resolving marital disputes. Those of us who have litigated divorces for decades have come to understand that litigation is not the preferred route to deciding marital discord. Most family court judges overtly state that the litigants would be better served by an amicable resolution reached after each spouse's needs have been considered rather than a contested trial. In fact, one court of appeals judge in California has noted that 'family law court is where they shoot the survivors.'

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Recent rulings of interest to you and your practice.

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Custody battles are stressful to clients, and few litigators escape the psychological daggers of a tough, demanding fight. Some clients make the combat more tolerable, while others seem destined to escalate hostilities. To date, there is no established taxonomy for identifying custody litigant 'types.' Yet, every matrimonial lawyer with custody battle experience has stories to tell about particular clients from difficult cases.

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A 70-year romance is insufficient for a claim for palimony support in New Jersey. A New Jersey appeals court recently ruled that without cohabitation, an extramarital ro-mantic relationship ' even one that spanned 70 years ' cannot be a basis for palimony support.

In today's highly litigious society, the great deal of electronically stored information (ESI) flying around can complicate the resolution of disputes. Depending on the industry and the individual, electronic documents may exist on home computers, laptops, PDAs, voice-mail systems and flash drives, as well as on corporate-based servers, archiving systems and network share drives. Yet, many companies wait until litigation begins, or even later, to consider electronic data and preservation issues. This can result in greater expense and a higher risk of mistakes. For example, if documents are missed or if the wrong documents are turned over to the requesting party, a company can expose itself to spoliation fines or worse ' unknowingly reveal the potential 'smoking guns.'

It has been said that 'just definitions either prevent or put an end to disputes.' Perhaps this saying exaggerates the point, but it does highlight the importance of understanding the precise meanings of words. In contemporary family law practice, however, many legal definitions are not precise. Instead, they often express the essential nature of terms and concepts, underscoring the dynamic nature of domestic relations law and the need to alter or expand the legal vocabulary in response to modern social reality.

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National rulings you need to know.

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Recent rulings of interest to you and your practice.