“One of the primary mistakes that parties make in family law cases is when they, in their perceived righteous anger, continue to show anger and grief over what the other party has done for too long ... The best way to keep your sanity is to lower your expectations and hope that the facts as you see them will be interpreted the same way in court. They may or may not be, but even if they are, it will most likely only be in part. The point is to present your case calmly if you hope to be heard at all. Don’t be white noise or you will never truly be heard.” (p. 116).
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“There is not a lot of overlap between morality and the law, either in the written code or in a judicial hearing. The chance of someone feeling truly vindicated by the end of their family law case is slim. Family law has evolved over the years to the point where explaining it to clients only makes sense in part.” (p. 117).
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Veronica White, a State Bar of Michigan member who has practiced family law since 2004, originally became an attorney because of her experiences during her own divorce and subsequent coparenting ramifications. White attended Eastern Michigan University, where she completed three years of a four-year bachelor’s degree program before being admitted to Thomas M. Cooley Law School. She graduated from Cooley in 2003 and since opening her family law practice in Ann Arbor more than 17 years ago, she has handled nearly 700 cases. In the introduction to her book, “Michigan Family Law: An Insider’s Map of the Minefield,” she notes that “[i]t’s hard to find an attorney who understands the three-level chess that is domestic violence ... who can relate to those in a financially difficult position ... [and] who you can connect with.” (p. 9). Though she wrote the book with the intent of helping those without a law degree, her examples, commentary, and personal viewpoints provide helpful insight to those in the legal profession and family law practices, too.
White opens the book by walking the reader through the process of finding and retaining a family law attorney. Regarding those topics, she emphasizes to the reader specific reasons and cases where and why a family law attorney could fire a client. She then moves on to describe personal and professional interactions with family law judges; in particular, White underscores client expectations and her experiences — some expected and others unexpected — with the more than 30 judges she has dealt with during her career.
“Michigan Family Law: An Insider’s Map of the Minefield” continues on to provide an overview of other personnel that family law attorneys and clients may interact with on a consistent basis including Friend of the Court social workers, mediators, parenting coordinators, guardians ad litem, and other evaluators. White comments on how clients and lawyers may have positive and negative interactions with those parties — complete with examples — and shows how they can affect the outcome of cases.
White then spends the next few chapters describing and illustrating the landscape of a typical family law case. She walks the reader through custody (both legal and physical), giving specific examples regarding how best-interest factors of the children under Mich. Comp. Laws § 722.23 are interpreted and weighed by different judges. She continues by explaining to readers the pitfalls to avoid when dealing with parenting time; strategies for when children do not want to see their parents; exchanges and possible conflicts arising between significant others, stepparents, and other parties; and child and spousal support. As White notes, “[p]arents need to prepare to be down the legal rabbit hole for quite a while and learn to keep their wits about them while they’re in it.” (p. 76).
As a whole, “Michigan Family Law: An Insider’s Map of the Minefield” provides a good overview of the family law case process. Regardless of whether you are a seasoned attorney or a new practitioner, it is worth the read because of the utility it can provide for current or future clients. Another plus is that it’s written in a way that even those without law degrees can understand. In addition to being able to recommend the book to clients as a resource, it can just as easily be provided to family members, friends, or neighbors seeking a better understanding of family law in Michigan.