Move Away, Lose Custody
Divorced parents who move out of state risk losing custody of their children, according to a recent decision by the Georgia Supreme Court. The court overruled years of Georgia case law when it ruled 4-3 that custody issues can be revisited if the primary guardian decides to leave the state. <i>Bodne v. Bodne</i>, S03G0275, Nov. 11, 2003.
Should Forensic Psychologists Make Custody Recommendations?
Forensic psychological assessments are often pivotal documents that can have a dramatic effect on the trajectory of a contested custody dispute and, ultimately, on the path a particular child's life will take post-disposition. These documents are often eagerly awaited because of their potential value in providing leverage for one side over the other and for their capacity to settle cases. Clients arrive at the clinician's office often feeling as if their lives are in the hands of the court-appointed expert. Forensic reports arrive at court as documents that represent the application of a behavioral "science" and there is therefore a common expectation that the recommendations will be weighted heavily because they will go beyond common public knowledge or subjective value choices. It is the recommendations section that is often read first by those involved in the dispute because of its perceived impact. This two-part article explores the limitations and applications of forensic psychology to custody evaluations.
'My Therapist Told Me ...'
Therapists who treat your client can be meddlesome third wheels or enormous helps in divorce litigation. Dealing with them effectively can improve attorney-client relations and spare everyone considerable misery.
2004 Update: Negative Custody Evaluations and Guardian Ad Litem Reports
In the August 2003 issue of The Matrimonial Strategist, I discussed identifying and exacting information from your client that would motivate a Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) or Custody Evaluator (CE) to examine the real issues in the case and not let bias interfere with his or her assessment. (In the remainder of this article, the GAL/CE is designated female and the client male.) The article made suggestions about interviewing your client, identifying issues, and reviewing records such as those from previous court matters or medical treatment.
Avoid These Mistakes in Your Company's Employee Handbook
Employee handbooks continue to provide disgruntled employees with ammunition for lawsuits for breach of contract, violations of statutes and opportunities to recover punitive damages on discrimination claims. This article identifies mistakes commonly made by employers and discusses methods for eliminating those deficiencies.
New European Law on 'Works Councils' Demands HQ Strategy
A new European Union law coming online next year will force multinationals operating in Europe to set up in-house, shop-level worker groups that, to an American, look a lot like independent unions. The new law threatens to tie a multinational's hands whenever it decides, in the future, to change anything in its European operations. The good news is that the new law offers substantial freedom to structure worker groups in as business-friendly a way as you want. The catch: You can't delegate the "works councils" problem down to your local European HR, and you have to implement your headquarters-driven strategy this year, during a special window period. This article summarizes the new law, and then explains the "best practices" strategy of creating a works councils network template that takes advantage of the law's window-period that grandfathers-in works councils structured before tough regulations get issued later.
