Well, it all comes down to Final Arguments, and not unlike feeling punchy after the 10th round here you go into the 11th and the 12th and you are done. This is how it goes in divorce court, you have a client who has been screwed by the former love of her life. You are the 2nd (maybe the 3rd or even the 8th) lawyer and now you get to tell the judge who has far too many files to read how it all “sums up.”
I had the opportunity to watch Joseph Mannis, Esq. do just that the other day, presenting his case in Judge Fredrick Shallers court, department 67. This is a case that has taken almost 5 years to get to this point. Mr. Mannis is lawyer #2, and the other side, hmmmm #7 or maybe even #8. Mr. Mannis is one of LA’s best divorce lawyers hands down and usually handles his cases on his own. Today he had an associate of Hersh, Mannis, & Bogen with him by the name of Julie McAlarnen, Esq. Ms. McAlarnen kept the material coming as Mr. Mannis walked and talked in presenting the facts that had transpired over the years, this is important…and the dates and facts came fast and smooth, it was “easy listening.” The two of them looked like an artillery battery, Julie passing the munitions and Mr. Mannis taking aim and firing them in the direction of the judge so he could see and hear all of the important points. It was impressive and again, if you have never seen this done, I beg you to go and visit the courts and get a feel for what a good lawyer looks like! It had the feel of a nice tailored silk suit…..smoooooth! This is what you pay for when you hire a divorce lawyer folks, pay attention.
Unfortunately, the other side gets to tell all of their fabrications of the facts and the numbers the way they want to many times the judge knows who is telling the truth and who is not) to the court and try to dilute the truths of Mr. Mannis (this is the case here folks, I know this case, I was there in the beginning with the first lawyer and I was there in the end with the second one…go figure that one). Ms. Green was the lawyer on the other side (# 8 or #9, not sure ). She was about as smooth as a pigs ass, or better yet, almost every time she wanted to find something, it was like an Easter egg hunt. You know, looking for green eggs on a green lawn, not easy and poorly presented. Again, she was not around from the beginning and was hired probably because she would do as her client wanted and was also “cheap” ( in her defense, she had a terrible client and the facts that were presented just made him look like a liar and a cheat). Welcome to Family Law, aka DIVORCE COURT.
You could tell when the Mannis “shells” hit the spot, Ms. Green would object and that is when Judge Shaller very patiently told her, “that is the art of final arguments.” This is just one of the reasons we here at Desperateexes.com love this judge, smoooooth!