Michael Trope has hit the grand slam home run of Family Law. He hit the ball right out of the park with the bases loaded for his client, Lisa Kerkorian. We at DesperateExes.com are betting that this is one of the biggest if not THE biggest child support wins in the history of divorce in the United States of America. As many of you will remember, Lisa Kerkorian was almost like the Rodney Dangerfield of DesperateExes, this was bad for her and so many people had stuck a fork in her and decided that she was done…but Lisa K is no fool, she reached out and picked a winner, Michael Trope, of Trope and DeCarolis.
Michael Trope not only negotiated this incredible win — $100,000 a month until her daughter is of a certain age and no longer living at home, when it drops back to a mere $50,000/mo — but folks wait till you hear this number: $10,250,000.00 in retroactive child support for Lisa Da K going back to 2002! There is no other lawyer in the United States that could have put a deal like this together, none. Millions in “retroactive child support”??? Who has ever heard of a number like this? $10,250,000 in retro what? Ms. Kerkorian has had a lot of lawyers in the past years and most fell flat on their faces when it came to getting her the real “Cha Ching.” Sure, they got paid barrels full of money, however Lisa got the short end of the stick each and every time, can you say “vindicated?” Whoever found Michael Trope for Ms. Kerkorian should be awarded a trip around the world, all expenses paid!!! Or a Rolex, “The Yacht-Master II” blue bezel and white face, that is a 43mm case, very nice! This is as big as it is going to ever get in the world of divorce aka Family Law and it was Michael Trope leading the charge through all the previous wreckage, the work of all of the other lawyers.
Folks there is always a backside to these stories and this one is no different.
It was back in 12.1.2008 when Michael Trope presented his “Motion to set aside” all the nasty stuff that victimized Lisa Kerkorian. As some of you will remember when she had Kolodny and Anteau as her lawyers pretty much all of what she said on the phone was being shared with Kirk Kerkorian’s lawyer Christensen and only god and Anthony Pellicano know who else through wiretaps, and we all remember what a nasty bit of business that was and Terry Christensen lost his ability to practice law…disbarred.Well read this:
1. Lisa did not get a fair trial in 2002 because her lawyers were compromised with wire taps….and that is not fair and not legal, just ask poor Terry Christensen.
2. Michael Trope was asking that everything be set aside as it was an “unfair” trial. And this was the only reasonable thing the court could do…a great position to take.
3. All previous evidence would have to be purged, tossed, thrown out, dumped…why? It was all obtained through illegal conduct…makes sense…hello is that you?
4. And that if the trial was to go forward, the Kirk Kerkorian crew would not be allowed to present any new evidence and all of the other stuff would be tossed…so no evidence would be presented…interesting thought.
5. And that Lisa Kerkorian be granted a default of $323,000.00 a month, all the way back to January 2002…cha ching! Not a big cha ching, but a cha ching!
Now if the judge would go along with that program, lets do the math, $323,000 minus the $50,000 a month brings us working class fools to $277,000 a month x 102 months for a grand total of $28,254,000. Now that is some exposure, and I am not talking warm and fuzzy kind for Mr. Kerkorian!
Now, for the big turn, a change of direction, we got a fresh attitude. I wrote on May 12, 2010 that the Judge orders lotsa bacon for Lisa Da K lawyers.” That day, it is my opinion that Joe Mannis, not being anyone’s fool saw what the exposure could be for his client and began to chart a new course. The actions and comments that day by Judge Steinberg made it clear that it was not going to be business as usual when it came to Lisa Kerkorian and her lawyer, Michael Trope. The other side representing Kirk Kerkorian had committed serious crimes and this Judge was not going to be ignoring the behavior. In many ways it was as if Michael Trope had slapped lipstick on a pig and someone on the other side of the table walked out of the courthouse with lipstick on their collar.
The deal has been floating around it looks like since July 8, 2010, my birthday! The agreement was finalized and signed just today, October 22, 2010. Representing Mr. Kirk Kerkorian is none other than one of the biggest hitters in family law, Joe Mannis. When it comes to seasoned lawyers talk to Joe Mannis. Keep in mind, Mannis represented one of the richest men in the world on this divorce/support issue. Talk about Titans of DIVORCE, here you have two of the best in the game, Michael Trope and Joe Mannis!
In closing, this was some of the best big gun lawyering in Family Law court this year, Michael Trope for Lisa Kerkorian and Joe Mannis for Kirk Kerkorian. Joe Mannis heard the court and made all of the right decisions and in doing so, clearly in my opinion saved his client millions of dollars. And for Michael Trope, need I remind everyone that before becoming a lawyer, he was one of the biggest sports agents in the country…”The Art of Negotiating” is alive and well at Trope and DeCarolis.