Adopted by the Los Angeles County Bar Association
Board of Trustees on January 24, 1996

PREAMBLE

These guidelines were approved by the Executive Committee of the Family Law Section and adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. They are intended to guide certain aspects of law practice unique to family law. However, it should be noted that family law practitioners are not exempt from the provisions of the Los Angeles County Bar Litigation Guidelines, adopted by the Board of Trustees in 1989 and made a part of the Los Angeles County Superior Court Rules, Rule 7.12, effective January 1, 1994. Further, to the extent the Litigation Guidelines are silent about a particular matter of lawyer conduct described below, it should not be construed as legitimizing discourteous or unprofessional conduct.

PROFESSIONALISM CODES -- ADDENDUM FOR FAMILY LAW PRACTITIONERS

Part I -- Guidelines Uniquely Applicable to Family Law Attorneys

1. A Family Law Attorney should not engage in churning a case. Churning occurs when a lawyer, exercising control over the volume, frequency and formality of events, abuses his/her power for personal gain by rendering professional services that are excessive in view of the nature and character of the matter. Family Law Attorneys must particularly guard against churning because their clients may be legally unsophisticated and/or emotionally vulnerable to control by an attorney. Specific examples of churning are set forth throughout these guidelines of professional conduct.

2. A Family Law Attorney should not engage in economic harassment or coercion of the adverse party. Economic harassment occurs, on the one hand, when the party who has the management and control of the bulk of the resources of the family deliberately conducts the proceeding so as to cause unnecessary and unreasonable expense to be borne by the adverse party or its attorney for the primary purpose of coercing a resolution favorable to the party controlling the family's resources.
   
   Economic harassment and coercion also occurs when an attorney whose fees can reasonably be expected to be paid largely by the adverse party, conducts the proceeding so as to cause unnecessary and unreasonable expense to be borne by the adverse party, or to cause unnecessary delay, for the purpose of coercing a resolution favorable to the attorney's client.

3. A Family Law Attorney shall not participate in vindictive litigation. Vindictive litigation occurs when a client's primary goal is to harm the adverse party. Such a client may be in an emotional state such that he or she is willing to dissipate a substantial portion or all of the family's resources on attorney's fees. An attorney is not required to refrain from taking reasonable and appropriate action merely because one of the client's motivations is vindictive, but an attorney should refrain from representation of a client who insists upon a pattern of actions motivated by vindictiveness.

4. Family Law Attorneys should not do anything to unnecessarily increase the emotional level of a family law dispute.

5. A Family Law Attorney should prepare his or her client to participate in the mediation process so that the client is ready and able to engage in meaningful negotiations.

6. Family Law Attorneys should disclose at the earliest opportunity any social, financial or professional relationship with an expert appointed, or to be appointed, whether by stipulation or court determination.

Part 2 -- Guidelines Concerning Disputes as to Child Custody and/or Visitation

1. Family Law Attorneys should not participate in a child custody or visitation dispute motivated by economic harassment or coercion.

2. Family Law Attorneys should not participate in a child custody or visitation dispute motivated by vindictiveness.

3. Family Law Attorneys for both parties have the affirmative duty in custody and visitation disputes to schedule a conciliation court appointment sufficiently in advance so as not to delay any scheduled court hearings. Family Law Attorneys should not use court mandated mediation on issues relating to custody and visitation as a tactic to delay a hearing involving issues on other matters.

4. Family Law Attorneys should not participate in an ex parte communication with a child custody evaluator or court appointed expert witness. Prohibited ex parte communications include the delivery of materials to the evaluator without simultaneous transmission to opposing counsel, unless there is an emergency, court order, or mutual agreement between counsel in advance.

5. Family Law Attorneys should disclose at the earliest opportunity any social, financial or professional relationship with a child custody evaluator appointed, or to be appointed, whether by stipulation or court determination.

Part 3 -- Guidelines for the Conduct of Litigation by Family Law Attorneys

1. Attorneys should never make personal attacks on opposing counsel, either written or orally, and should avoid making personal derogatory comments about the other party.

2. An attorney should utilize the ex parte process with judicious restraint, only making applications for emergency relief when truly warranted and when specifically allowable by the Codes. The ex parte process should not be utilized to gain a tactical advantage over opposing counsel or to substitute for the timely preparation of a case.

3. If an attorney has given the opposing side ex parte notice and then determines he or she will not be appearing, that attorney must give notice to opposing counsel as soon as possible that the notice is revoked.

4. Attorneys should return telephone calls to opposing counsel within a reasonable period of time; provided, however, that if an attorney is unavailable or otherwise unable to return calls, someone should return said call on behalf of the attorney.

5. An attorney shall not harass opposing counsel via misuse or overuse of facsimile machines. The elements to be considered in determining whether an attorney has misused the facsimile machine shall be:

6. Where a Notice of Nonavailability has been served reasonably in advance, opposing counsel shall honor the dates when the serving attorney is unavailable except in the case of bona fide emergencies.

7. An attorney shall not act unilaterally on a matter that affects both sides on which the adverse attorney has asked to be consulted, without first informing and/or responding to the other side. (E.g., if one side has suggested a joint or mutual expert be utilized, the other attorney shall not then attempt to "force" on the requesting party an expert hired by the responding party. Such as, an attorney should not cause tax returns or QDROs to be prepared without first either discussing same with opposing counsel who has so requested, or indicating to requesting counsel an unwillingness to do so.)

8. Counsel shall not withhold or delay Experts' Reports in order to gain a strategic advantage.

9. Attorneys should exchange all exhibits before the day of any court hearing if it is reasonably possible for them to do so. Where it is not possible, the exchange should take place as early as possible on the day of the hearing. Under no circumstances should an attorney wait until he or she is before the court to exchange documents.

10. Attorneys should stipulate to the receipt of Exhibits by the Court and/or the introduction of expert testimony unless strong evidentiary justification exists for the refusal thereto. Attorneys should participate in the simultaneous exchange of Expert Reports as soon as same are available.

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