On November 10, 2011, Nathan attended the Virginia CLE Program titled: 30th Annual Family Law Seminar: The Death of Marriage.
It was an interesting CLE with a wide variety of topics, only one pertaining to the title. Carl J. Witmeyer, II spoke on the title topic and offered interesting statistics regarding marriage and divorce. He cited a recent survey that stated approximately half of all marriages end in divorce. The state with the highest percentage of divorces is Nevada. The profession with the highest rate of divorce is “dancers and choreographers.” Respondents cited job stress as one of the primary reasons for a divorce.
Edward D. Barnes offered a very comprehensive review of family law cases from March 22 to September 19, 2011. Over this period of time, the Court of Appeals of Virginia handed down 41 decisions in family law, only three of which were published. Of the 41 decisions, only seven resulted in at least one issue being reversed.
Dawn B. DeBoer presented “Family Law Practice in a Man’s World.” She spoke on the history of women in the law and lingering stereotypes and double standards female lawyers face today. Gerald V. Curran presented the ethics lecture on issues ranging from improper advertising to clients illegally obtaining evidence of adultery.