Family Advocate Podcasts

Now there's a way to get even more information from Family Advocate....listen to free podcasts featuring authors of recent articles. Podcasts typically run between 10-15 minutes.

Podcast:  A Checklist for Writing Your Business Plan (5 MB)

Article:  A Checklist for Writing Your Business Plan

Authors: Siddhartha H. Rathod & Qusair Mohamedbhai

From the Family Advocate, Should I Open My Own Family Law Practice (Winter 2016).

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Podcast: Successfully Negotiating with the Self-Represented Party (15MB)
Article: Successfully Negotiating with the Self-Represented Party
Author: Joseph W. Booth

Nothing is more important in a divorce case than trying to reach an amicable settlement both for resolving the case and for the parties’ long-time relationship after the divorce. Negotiations can be particularly challenging when there is a pro se party on the other side. This podcast examines how a family law attorney can prepare his or her client for negotiations, respond appropriately to the needs of a pro se litigant, listen to what both sides are saying they want, and pursue settlement in an atmosphere that reduces tension and conflict and moves the parties toward settlement. It all begins with setting the ground rules and building rapport.

In this podcast, Gregg Herman, a Milwaukee family law attorney and Family Advocate issue co-editor with Debra Lehrmann, a justice on the Texas Supreme Court, talks with Joseph Booth, a family law attorney in Lenexa, Kansas.

The discussion builds on Mr. Booth’s article, Successfully Negotiating with the Self-Represented Party, which appears in the Winter 2015 Family Advocate on Negotiation Techniques to Enhance Settlement.

To download podcast, click on link above. Section of Family Law members can also read the article online.

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Podcast: Family Lawyering with Planned Early Negotiation  (4MB)
Article: Family Lawyering with Planned Early Negotiation
Author: John Lande

Nothing is more important in a divorce case than trying to reach an amicable settlement both for resolving the case and for the parties’ long-time relationship after the divorce. This podcast examines how family law attorneys can use planned early negotiations in divorce cases. Since most divorce cases ultimately settle, this author suggests that every lawyer should expect to settle the matter at hand from the first client meeting and throughout the case. The author explains planned early negotiation “best practices”; how to think strategically from the beginning of the case and identify the right and wrong moments to negotiate. Even if in the end the case goes to trial, this author believes that the lawyer who prepares for and anticipates settlement ultimately will be better prepared to litigate if the need arises.

In this podcast, Gregg Herman, a Milwaukee family law attorney and Family Advocate issue co-editor with Debra Lehrmann, a justice on the Texas Supreme Court, talks with John Lande, a professor at the University of Missouri School of Law and author of Lawyering with Planned Early Negotiation (2011).

The discussion builds on John Lande’s article, Family Lawyering with Planned Early Negotiation, which appears in the Winter 2015 Family Advocate on Negotiation Techniques to Enhance Settlement.

To download podcast, click on link above. Section of Family Law members can also read the article online.

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Podcast: Three Logical Arguments for Divorce Settlement  (16MB)
Article: Three Logical Arguments for Divorce Settlement
Authors: Ronald S. Granberg

Nothing is more important in a divorce case than trying to reach an amicable settlement both for resolving the case and for the parties’ long-time relationship after the divorce. This podcast examines how lawyers can achieve the desired settlement through persuasive arguments that build on the law’s three logical arguments: deductive syllogism, inductive generalization, and inductive analogy.

In this podcast, Gregg Herman, a Milwaukee family law attorney and Family Advocate issue co-editor with Debra Lehrmann, a justice on the Texas Supreme Court, talks with Ronald S. Granberg, a principal with Granberg Law Office in Salinas, California.

The discussion builds on Ronald Granberg’s article, Three Logical Arguments for Divorce Settlement, which appears in the Winter 2015 Family Advocate on Negotiation Techniques to Enhance Settlement.

To download podcast, click on link above. Section of Family Law members can also read the article online.

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Podcast: Preparing a Client for Settlement  (12MB)
Article: Preparing a Client for Settlement
Authors: Jennifer A. Brandt

Nothing is more important in a divorce case than trying to reach an amicable settlement both for resolving the case and for the parties’ long-time relationship after the divorce. This podcast examines how to proceed even when one of the biggest obstacles to settlement appears to be your own client. Many divorce clients go through an emotional rollercoaster of feelings throughout the divorce case. A lawyer must be sensitive to where the client is in that process, gather the facts of the case, and educate the client about the process and how best to resolve issues in conflict. This author also talks about how to proceed when one party is ready to settle, but the other is not, and how trial preparation fits into the negotiation and settlement process.

In this podcast, Gregg Herman, a Milwaukee family law attorney and Family Advocate issue co-editor with Debra Lehrmann, a justice on the Texas Supreme Court, talks with Jennifer A. Brandt, a partner with Cozen O’Connor and a well-known television legal commentator.

The discussion builds on Jennifer Brandt’s article, Preparing a Client for Settlement, which appears in the Winter 2015 Family Advocate on Negotiation Techniques to Enhance Settlement.

To download podcast, click on link above. Section of Family Law members can also read the article online.

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Podcast: The Court’s Role in Settlement Negotiations  (26MB)
Article: The Court’s Role in Settlement Negotiations
Authors: Hugh E. Starnes & Sheldon E. Finman

Nothing is more important in a divorce case than trying to reach an amicable settlement both for resolving the case and for the parties’ long-time relationship after the divorce. This podcast focuses on commonsense, practical protocols and other systems designed to ameliorate the problems inherent in high-conflict divorce cases. These two authors, one a retired judge and the other an experienced family law attorney, speak with experience about what works and what doesn’t in high-conflict cases that ultimately clog the courts, increase the costs of divorce, and don’t serve the clients well. The authors talk about the role of the judge in helping parties achieve a resolution and ultimately craft their own solutions so that they have buy-in to the final settlement agreement. This process also gives the parties a positive role model for resolving future conflicts.

In this podcast, Gregg Herman, a Milwaukee family law attorney and Family Advocate issue co-editor with Debra Lehrmann, a justice on the Texas Supreme Court, talks with Hugh E. Starnes, a retired circuit court judge in the Twentieth Judicial Court of Florida from 1978–2008, and Sheldon E. Finman, a Florida Bar Board Certified Marital and Family Attorney.

The discussion builds on Hugh Starnes and Sheldon Finman’s article, The Court’s Role in Settlement Negotiations, which appears in the Winter 2015 Family Advocate on Negotiation Techniques to Enhance Settlement.

To download podcast, click on link above. Section of Family Law members can also read the article online.

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Podcast: Talking with Your Children about the Divorce (8 MB)
Article:  Telling Your Children about the Divorce
Author: Sol R. Rappaport, Ph.D.

What should parents tell their children about a pending divorce? Many divorcing parents struggle with this question. And how parents handle this discussion can make a huge difference in how the child accepts the divorce and the necessary changes in the family and the child’s life.

In this podcast, a skilled mental health professional answers that question and others, such as when should parents talk with their kids, what not to say, and how to recognize when your child is having difficulty coping.

Carl Gilmore, a member of the Family Advocate Editorial Board and a family-law attorney in Woodstock, Illinois, interviews Sol R. Rappaport, a Licensed Clinical Psychologist specializing in forensic psychology at the Northern Illinois Institute of Forensic Psychology and Counseling Connections in Libertyville, Illinois.

The discussion builds on an article Dr. Rappaport wrote for the Summer 2012 Family Advocate Client Manual. 

To download podcast, click on link above.

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Podcast: Criminal Charges in a Divorce Case (23 MB)
Article: Criminal Child Abuse
Author: Jennifer Lynn Thompson

Often in a divorce or family law matter, one side or the other may suddenly be facing criminal charges. Mistakes made in handling these allegations can have serious and life-long consequences for the parties and the divorce settlement.

In this podcast, two family law attorneys discuss what should and what should not be done in these complicated legal matters. Carl Gilmore, a member of the Family Advocate Editorial Board and a family-law attorney in Woodstock, Illinois, interviews Jennifer Lynn Thompson from Nashville, Tennessee, who practices criminal law and family law. Their discussion focuses on what should happen if criminal allegations surface in a divorce or custody case.

The discussion builds on an article Ms. Thompson wrote for the Spring 2011 Family Advocate. 

To download podcast, click on link above. Section of Family Law members can also read the article online.

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Podcast: Documenting Procedures in Family Law (8 MB)
Article:   Are You Building a Family Law Practice System?
Author:  Lee Rosen

Lee Rosen discusses his recent Family Forum article on building systems for the practice of family law. Rosen contends that systems are the key to building a thriving practice.

To download podcast, click on link above.

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Podcast: The Case for Prenuptials (8 MB)
Article: The Perils of a Prenup
Authors: Paul S. Leinoff & Natalie S. Lemos


When drafting a prenuptial agreement for a new client, the lawyer must listen carefully to what the client wants, know what the law allows, and anticipate a range of possible future events that may occur in the client’s life and for which he or she will need protection. In this podcast, two family law attorneys--Family Advocate Editorial Board member Melvyn Frumkes and author Paul S. Leinoff--discuss how to protect your client and yourself. 

To download podcast, click on link above. Section of Family Law members can also read the article online.

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Podcast: Legal Ethics (23 MB)
Article: E-Discovery in the Age of Facebook, Twitter, and the Digital Family
Authors: William Hamilton & Wendy K. Akbar


If you are a family law attorney, the world of evidence gathering has been transformed by the digital age. In every case, you must know how to effectively and economically locate, preserve, collect, review, and use electronically stored information.

In this podcast, two experienced family law attorneys discuss the ethical traps and the most effective evidentiary techniques to employ. Bob Guyot, a member of the Family Advocate Editorial Board and a family law attorney in Traverse City, Michigan, interviews William Hamilton, a specialist in electronic discovery and digital evidence who practices in Tampa, Florida.

This discussion of electronic discovery and the new skill set required of family law attorneys builds on an article Mr. Hamilton wrote for the Fall 2010 Family Advocate. 

To download podcast, click on link above. Section of Family Law members can also read the article online.

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