Reducing Conflict in Divorce Litigation: Ethical Solutions for Family Law Practitioners

Alan R. Feigenbaum
Sunita Kurra
Erika R. Piccirillo
Alan R. Feigenbaum | Blank Rome LLP
Sunita Kurra | Cohen Clair Lans Greifer & Simpson LLP
Erika R. Piccirillo | Cohn Lifland Pearlman Herrmann & Knopf, LLP
On-Demand: February 27, 2025

2.5 hour CLE

Tuition: $245.00
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Program Summary

Session I – Professional Approaches to Resolving High-Conflict Divorce Cases – Alan R. Feigenbaum and Sunita Kurra

In this session, two matrimonial practitioners will address what a “high conflict” divorce looks like, how conflict can be reduced, unnecessarily escalated, and ultimately resolved whether by trial or settlement. We will examine the role that divorce lawyers play in balancing the emotional and legal temperature in a high conflict divorce and explore ways to add value to clients through the vehicle of maintaining positive working relationships between counsel during high conflict litigation. Finally, we will address the importance of client management and how unchecked expectations can escalate conflict.

Key topics to be discussed:

  • How tone in letters, emails, briefs, affidavits play a role in the level of conflict in divorce litigation
  • How conduct at depositions, and in court, plays a role in the level of conflict in divorce litigation
  • Why it’s important to remember that the divorce lawyers are not getting divorced – the risks of becoming your client
  • The relevance of trying to resolve disputes before motion practice
  • Acknowledging mistakes of your client
  • Not being punitive when opposing counsel makes an honest mistake
  • The dangers of reneging on deal terms, and how that impacts the level of conflict

Session II – Practical Divorce Tips and Reducing Conflict: Navigating Ethical Challenges in Family Law – Erika R. Piccirillo

This session is designed to provide family law practitioners with practical strategies and ethical considerations to reduce conflict in divorce cases while ensuring compliance with the Rules of Professional Conduct. Focusing on practical tips for managing high-conflict divorces, resolving disputes efficiently, and maintaining professionalism, the course will help attorneys navigate the emotional and legal complexities inherent in divorce proceedings. This session will provide attendees with insight on maintaining ethical standards and fostering positive client outcomes.

Key topics to be discussed:

  • Confidentiality (Rule 1.6)
  • Conflict of Interest (Rule 1.7 - 1.9)
  • Duties of Candor and Fairness (Rules 3.3 and 4.1)
  • Competence and Diligence (Rules 1.1 and 1.3)

Closed-captioning available

Speakers

Alan Feigenbaum_myLawCLEAlan R. Feigenbaum | Blank Rome LLP

Alan is an experienced matrimonial and family law attorney whose prime focus is the maximization of is clients’ long-term, post-divorce, emotional capital.

He assists a diverse range of professionals and their spouses, including business owners, lawyers, investors, and entertainers, on their family law matters, with a notable focus on evaluating the optimal strategies to manage and resolve complex financial and custody disputes.

He is well-versed in managing agreements (separation, prenuptial, and postnuptial) to create a framework for his clients’ futures, and approaches dispute resolution with an eye toward facilitating cooperation and reducing conflict, making every effort to settle cases out of court.

Understanding that divorce can affect the trajectory of a person’s life, Alan focuses on his clients’ long-term financial and familial best interests. His multifaceted approach has included:

  • Working with financial experts to identify and define the scope of assets acquired by a spouse before the marriage, thereby eliminating litigation over whether those assets are part of the marital pot;
  • Resolving the disposition of a spouse’s interest in a business without resorting to a pro forma approach that assumes complex valuation of that interest is always required;
  • Reaching agreement on the payment of expenses while a divorce action is pending, without the need for costly, interim support motion practice;
  • Negotiating interim parenting schedules by empowering parents and not substituting attorney judgment for that of the parents;
  • Settling contentious custody disputes without involving court-appointed professionals, sparing the family from the potentially lasting effects of domestic relations litigation; and
  • Prioritizing the value clients place on financial independence both during and after the divorce action concludes, including in the case of the non-monied spouse evaluating the financially feasibility of retaining the marital home.

Alan also has significant courtroom experience, including first-chair trial experience in domestic relations matters and, at an early stage in his career, examining witnesses before the U.S. International Trade Commission.

He also speaks and writes frequently on matters of family law. Alan is a regular contributing columnist for the New York Law Journal on matters of divorce law.

For his pro bono work at the firm, Alan is a volunteer discharge upgrade attorney for The Veterans Consortium.

 

Sunita Kurra_myLawCLESunita Kurra | Cohen Clair Lans Greifer & Simpson LLP

Sunita Kurra is admitted to practice in both New York and New Jersey.

She has been practicing matrimonial and family law exclusively since completing her clerkship for the Honorable Frances A. McGrogan, J.S.C. of the Bergen County Superior Court, Family Division, where she began her legal career. Ms. Kurra has been named a Super Lawyers “Rising Star” for the New York Metro Area each year since 2017.

Ms. Kurra received her JD from Duke University School of Law in 2011 and her BA magna cum laude from Barnard College in 2006. She lives in New Jersey with her husband, son and daughter.

 

Erika R. Piccirillo_myLawCLEErika R. Piccirillo | Cohn Lifland Pearlman Herrmann & Knopf, LLP

Erika R. Piccirillo is a partner in the Family Law Group at Cohn Lifland. Erika is Certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as Matrimonial Attorney

As a family law attorney, Erika represents her clients’ interests in matrimonial and post-judgment matters and protects their children’s best interests in custody and support matters. Erika recognizes that sometimes life stops being all ‘x’s and ‘o’s and, when that happens, she helps her clients cross their ‘t’s and dot their ‘i’s. She knows that what is best for one family is not best for all families and seeks to help her clients resolve issues in a way that is tailored for their specific needs.

Erika has experience in a range of family law matters: From divorce, including equitable distribution and spousal support; to custody matters, including child support and parenting; to post-judgment matrimonial cases, including enforcement of Marital Settlement Agreements; to litigating domestic violence matters. Erika is a sounding board for her clients’ most sensitive issues and a source of legal counsel, empowering them to make thoughtful decisions in every circumstance.

Agenda

Session I – Professional Approaches to Resolving High-Conflict Divorce Cases | 1:00pm – 2:40pm

  • How tone in letters, emails, briefs, affidavits play a role in the level of conflict in divorce litigation
  • How conduct at depositions, and in court, plays a role in the level of conflict in divorce litigation
  • Why it’s important to remember that the divorce lawyers are not getting divorced – the risks of becoming your client
  • The relevance of trying to resolve disputes before motion practice

Break | 2:00pm – 2:10pm

  • Acknowledging mistakes of your client
  • Not being punitive when opposing counsel makes an honest mistake
  • The dangers of reneging on deal terms, and how that impacts the level of conflict

Session II – Practical Divorce Tips and Reducing Conflict: Navigating Ethical Challenges in Family Law | 2:40pm – 3:50pm

  • Confidentiality (Rule 1.6): Ensuring that client information is protected, particularly when emotions run high in divorce cases
  • Conflict of Interest (Rule 1.7 – 1.9): Identifying and addressing conflicts when representing both parties in a divorce or handling multiple cases involving the same family

Break | 3:10pm – 3:20pm

  • Duties of Candor and Fairness (Rules 3.3 and 4.1): Ensuring honesty in communications, particularly in cases involving hidden assets or deceitful behavior by one party
  • Competence and Diligence (Rules 1.1 and 1.3): Ensuring honesty in communications, particularly in cases involving hidden assets or deceitful behavior by one party

Credits

Alaska

Approved for CLE Credits
1.5 General , 1 Ethics

Our programs are CLE-eligible through Alaska’s recognition of multi-jurisdictional reciprocity.
Alabama

Approved for Self-Study Credits
1.5 General , 1 Ethics

Arkansas

Approved for CLE Credits
1.5 General , 1 Ethics

Arizona

Approved for CLE Credits
1.5 General , 1 Professional Responsibility/Ethics

California

Approved for CLE Credits
1.5 General , 1 Ethics

Colorado

Pending CLE Approval
1.5 General , 1 Ethics / Professionalism

Connecticut

Approved for CLE Credits
1.5 General , 1 Ethics / Professionalism

District of Columbia

No MCLE Required
1.5 CLE Hours, 1 CLE Hour

Delaware

Pending CLE Approval
1.5 General , 1 Enhanced Ethics

Florida

Approved via Attorney Submission
2 General , 1 Ethics Hours

Receive CLE credit in Florida via attorney submission.
Georgia

Approved for CLE Credits
1.5 General,1 Ethics

Hawaii

Approved for CLE Credits
1.8 General , 1.2 Ethics or Professional Responsibility Education

Iowa

Pending CLE Approval
1.5 General , 1 Ethics

Idaho

Pending CLE Approval
1.5 General , 1 Ethics

Illinois

Approved for Self-Study Credits
1.5 General,1 Ethics, Civility, Professionalism

Indiana

Approved For On-Demand Credits
1.5 General , 1 Ethics

Kansas

Pending CLE Approval
1.5 Substantive , 1 Ethics / Professionalism

Kentucky

Pending CLE Approval
1.5 General , 1 Ethics

Louisiana

Pending CLE Approval
1.5 General , 1 Ethics

Massachusetts

No MCLE Required
1.5 CLE Hours, 1 CLE Hour

Maryland

No MCLE Required
1.5 CLE Hours, 1 CLE Hour

Maine

Pending CLE Approval
1.5 General , 1 Ethics / Professionalism

Ethics credits can ONLY be earned through Live-Webcast programs, the Maine Board of Bar Examiners does not approve Ethics through On-Demand sessions.
Michigan

No MCLE Required
1.5 CLE Hours, 1 CLE Hour

Minnesota

Approved for Self-Study Credits
1.5 General , 1 Ethics

Missouri

Approved for CLE Credits
1.8 General , 1.2 Ethics

Mississippi

Pending CLE Approval
1.5 General , 1 Other (Ethics / Professionalism)

Montana

Pending CLE Approval
1.5 General , 1 Professional Fitness and Integrity

North Carolina

Pending CLE Approval
1.5 General , 1 Ethics

North Dakota

Approved for CLE Credits
1.5 General , 1 Ethics

Our programs are CLE-eligible through North Dakota’s recognition of multi-jurisdictional reciprocity. Section 1, Policy 1.14
Nebraska

Pending CLE Approval
1.5 General , 1 Professional Responsibility

myLawCLE reports attendance to Nebraska on each attorney’s behalf for all programs. Please do not self-report.
New Hampshire

Approved for CLE Credits
90 General Minutes, 60 Ethics / Professionalism Minutes

As of July 1, 2014, the NHMCLE Board no longer provides pre- or post-approval of courses. Attendees must self-determine whether a program is eligible for credit, and self-report their attendance online at www.nhbar.org, based on qualification provisions of Rule 53.
New Jersey

Approved for CLE Credits
1.8 General , 1.2 Ethics / Professionalism

Our programs are CLE-eligible through New Jersey’s recognition of multi-jurisdictional reciprocity, except for the courses required under BCLE Reg. 201:2
New Mexico

Approved for Self-Study Credits
1.5 General , 1 Ethics / Professionalism

Nevada

Approved for Self-Study Credits
1.5 General , 1 Ethics / Professionalism

New York

Approved for CLE Credits
1.8 General , 1.2 Ethics / Professionalism

Our programs are CLE-eligible through New York’s Approved Jurisdiction Group “B”.
Ohio

Approved for Self-Study Credits
1.5 General , 1 Professional Conduct

Oklahoma

Pending CLE Approval
2 General , 1 Ethics / Professionalism

Oregon

Pending CLE Approval
1.5 General , 1 Ethics

Pennsylvania

Approved for Self-Study Credits
1.5 General , 1 Ethics / Professionalism

Rhode Island

Pending CLE Approval
2 General , 1 Ethics / Professionalism

South Carolina

Pending CLE Approval
1.5 General , 1 Ethics / Professionalism

South Dakota

No MCLE Required
1.5 CLE Hours, 1 CLE Hour

Tennessee

Approved for Self-Study Credits
1.5 General , 1 Dual

Texas

Approved for CLE Credits
1.5 General,1 Ethics

Utah

Pending CLE Approval
1.5 General , 1 Ethics / Professionalism

Virginia

Not Eligible
1.5 General Hours, 1 Ethics / Professionalism Hours

Vermont

Approved for CLE Credits
1.5 General , 1 Ethics / Professionalism

Washington

Approved via Attorney Submission
1.5 Law & Legal , 1 Ethics Hours

Receive CLE credit in Washington via Attorney Submission. myLawCLE will supply Washington state attorneys with instructions on how to gain credit.
Wisconsin

Approved for Self-Study Credits
3 General

West Virginia

Pending CLE Approval
1.8 General , 1.2 Ethics / Professionalism

Wyoming

Pending CLE Approval
1.5 General , 1 Ethics / Professionalism

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