Divorce Firms Expect Surge
Stay at Home orders and the court system shutdown slowed divorce business at firms like Blank Rome, but partner Stacy Phillips expects things will get "very, very busy" in coming months.
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“I truly believe that the divorce business, it’s sad to say, is going to be very, very busy,” said Stacy Phillips, a partner in the Los Angeles office of Blank Rome.
An upswing in divorce and domestic violence cases, coming out of two months of Covid-19 quarantine, is expected to boost demand for family lawyers and mediators in coming months, legal professionals say.
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Phillips reports that divorce work is already up in her office. “And I know that once people are not living together, there will be an uptick,” she said.
Still, even after reopening, moving through the courts will be slow, both former judges and attorneys said.
In addition to some estimates of 30,000 backed-up civil cases, the fact that many judges are older men who are considered particularly vulnerable to Covid-19 will require physical distancing restrictions.
And what will courthouse logistics be like getting through security checks, using escalators and hours in hallways awaiting courtroom entry?
“How do you show something to a witness,” Phillips wondered. “Judge Brazile has just come out with it: All judges have to wear masks. One judge, she could not be heard. You can’t see facial expressions. It’s hot. It muffles the voice. It affects the hearing.”
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“Divorce Firms Expect Surge,” by Neal Koch was published in Los Angeles Business Journal on June 1, 2020.