[Magdalen] your ongoing prayers, please

[Jim Guthrie]

Lynne writes:

>even heard of the 'percentage' approach to charging. Perhaps that is reserved 
>for the more wealthy among us.

Not sure who else brought that up, but as I wrote, "
In the U.S., if this involves a substantial amount of money, Marion would find a
lawyer who'd take it for a percentage -- maybe 30% or so."

One of the big problems in the U.S. is hiding the assets. Often, a huge amount 
is squirreled away (usually by the husband) as the marriage is dissolving so 
that when the 50/50 settlement comes, there's a bundle of assets hidden away. 
OTOH, there's always the threat of the phony accusation  of the husband of child 
molestation that can bankrupt him or send him to jail or both.  Divorces with 
money can be really nasty.

Then there was the case of the gentleman babbling away on a cell phone on an 
evening commuter train headed to the Connecticut suburbs regarding how he was 
hiding his assets in anticipation of his divorce. The wife's lawyer was seated a 
few row back, and took notes, and even ran his own cell phone to record the 
conversation. After the divorce, both lawyers had to face a bar committee -- one 
for aiding the hiding of the assets, the other for recording the conversation 
and using it in court.

Cheers,
Jim Guthrie