Lesson No. 1, Avoid Cross-Examination by Divorce Lawyer Jeff Fisher
Most Effective Lawyers: Family/probate — Fisher says it comes down to preparation, but he has a knack for catching divorcing parties in lies and with fake documents.
December 10, 2018 at 05:00 AM
2 minute read
Jeff Fisher
Fisher Potter Hodas
Jeff Fisher has carved out a niche for himself in divorces of the rich, famous or not.
in a divorce trial last June, Fisher represented the husband when the wife, a trust fund heiress, sought an unequal division of property. She claimed she didn't know she had changed many assets to joint property with the husband. The West Palm Beach attorney considered his cross-examination of her the crucial part of the case.
The court denied the wife's claim for unequal distribution and found her “testimony consisted of a litany of self-serving and contradictory excuses that lack any degree of credibility (particularly in the face of cross examination).”
The issue of post-judgment enforcement came up in May when Fisher represented the wife against her ex-husband, who owned half of an insurance company worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Their settlement agreement included provisions for equitable distribution to the wife, but the husband skipped the payments and argued they were contingent on events that didn't occur.
Through discovery, depositions and motions, Fisher built a case that was resolved on the eve of trial. The ex-husband withdrew all of his “defenses that he asserted to excuse his failure to timely pay the wife the amounts owed to her.”
In November 2017, Fisher represented third parties with the largest financial interest in a well-publicized divorce in South Florida. Fisher dug through thousands of documents at locations controlled by the husband to unearth material proving the husband wasn't candid with the court.
Again, cross-examination was crucial in a seven-day injunction hearing. The court concluded the husband offered a falsified document as evidence and “concocted a false story about its recent 'discovery' with [his lawyer] for the purpose of defrauding the court about the key, disputed issues in the case.” The husband's pleading were struck.
Fisher is willing to share his wealth of particularized legal knowledge. He teaches a short course called Advanced Topics in Family Law at the University of Miami School of Law.
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