April 13, 2009 4/14/2009 6:44:30 AM
News / Law

When Bad Lawyers Happen to Good People

Broward County Family Law and Divorce

Broward County Attorney Howard Friedman, of Fischler & Friedman, P.A., whose practice is located in Fort Lauderdale, and who is allegedly well-known for his “less-than ethical” Courtroom tactics, may have stepped on the wrong set of toes during a recent Divorce Trial held at the Broward County 17th Judicial Court in January 2009.

 

“I am a citizen on a mission”, stated the unidentified woman, who is the “Respondent” and the former Wife of Friedman’s [then] client in a recent divorce case (mentioned above). The woman, who has chosen to remain anonymous for a brief period to complete additional Lower Court proceedings that will preceded her [now-filed] Notice of Appeal, stated that she intended on hosting a website that would allow the public free access to her entire Court file, including the transcripts of the hearings and Trial, the Motions, Pleadings and Orders, and other case-related correspondence.

 

The exposure of this case will hopefully give citizens an intimate and genuine view into the Courthouse “closed-door” proceedings where most Dissolutions of Marriage take place, in the privacy of Chambers, and without ever being available for public viewing. By doing so, those that are considering, are filing or have filed for a divorce in Broward County, and who may have fallen prey to hiring Friedman, or another lawyer with the same unethical school of thought, may very well end up replacing him or her with a more suitable counsel, and one with true integrity to represent them BEFORE their life is negatively and detrimentally impacted.

 

Howard Friedman is the type of lawyer that the public must be protected from and that protection will only come through the real stories of his victims. His peers will never share the truth due to their “unspoken peer alliance of protection” that exists between attorneys who practice out of the same county. There are, however, some attorneys that actually offer ethical services and genuine protection of their clients’ legal rights, and their interests in preserving the “family” and its future by fostering long-lasting amicable existences between litigants is a core benefit of using an attorney of this kind, not to mention the financial savings associated with mediation-focused lawyers that only exist among those that practice with these important principles.

 

Although Friedman boasts of his ability to prevail in the Courtroom through his highly-contentious litigation skills, the public must be educated on the truth, and that Friedman’s promises are empty once he completes his sought-out mission, leaving families in a state of destruction, broken-hearted and financially devastated, with his client being the most impacted victim in his legal loop-hole games. Both litigants lose, and they lose a lot!

 

“Although my [now ex] husband was fooled into believing that he was well-protected by hiring Friedman, he has foreclosed on his mortgage and has stopped meeting his financial obligations which has resulted in permanent damage to his credit history and the destruction of his almost-perfect (high 700s) credit score for the first time in this litigant’s 45 years of life.” The damages extend well beyond the Petitioner’s (his clients’) financial downfall. He has destroyed what was once a very strong family bond, despite the pending divorce, and has harmed many of the family members, including the children and their now-compromised sense of security, and all as a direct result of his greed and his over-indulgence in acts of dishonesty and fraud in his efforts to discredit his opposition.”

 

The egregious tactics of Friedman are not only unnecessary for amicable litigants, but they immediately throw the same litigants into a fueled fire of contention that did not otherwise exist and that only add to their burden of their pending divorce. The woman claims that, through her diligent observations of the mechanics of this attorney’s tactics, she acquired a wealth of knowledge about the practices and false promises that attorneys make to their clients. The woman has stated her intentions of sharing her story and her newly-acquired wisdom with the public and, in particular, new divorce case-filers (of which she captures through public records on a daily basis) in her own relentless effort to spare others from falling prey to Friedman and Friedman-type lawyers.

 

“My hope is to capture the attention of anyone who is filing or knows someone that is filing for divorce so that they can better understand the legal system as it relates to their matter, and to hopefully intercept a case in time to save them from depleting their life savings by redirecting them away from hiring Friedman, or others like him, to represent them in their case(s). The woman speaks with confidence in her belief that the formal court filings, transcripts and depositions of her case will initially shock the public and will likely cause many citizens to lose faith in what appears to be a very “broken” Broward County legal system that fails its citizens. In fact, her publications will undoubtedly leave any logical citizen in “utter shock” and “disbelief” that our local Court system actually allows for these unacceptable parameters of injustices in what is supposed to be A Law of Equity.

 

Sources say that Friedman is going to be fielding a number of legal problems himself, including a Public Florida Bar Grievance complaint and other civil-related matters that cannot be disclosed until such time that they are officially filed with the Court. Opinions that Friedman’s highly unethical practice of law and irresponsible disregard for the families of Broward County will be substantiated by the reviewing of Friedman’s “own words” in the many articles of Court record that will be made public in the weeks to come.

 

The complaints, according to sources, will be transcripts taken from “live” hearings, trials and depositions, and will consist of very specific quotes that would undoubtedly leave any grievance committee troubled the type of unethical conduct displayed by this Attorney during formal Court proceedings. A divorced woman has vowed to protect families, children, mothers and fathers, as well as the public at large, from a problematic system that remains without accountability to those that foster it.

 

“Friedman, who, in my opinion, solely practices law in the name of greed. His tactics, in my opinion, violate the very essence of humanity and go against many of the Florida Ethics Rules that The Florida Bar claims that all attorneys are held to in terms of their compliance with those rules. The ruthless and unconscionable acts of this attorney are on their way to the public press. A woman, whose family has been torn apart at the hands of this attorney vows to protect as many citizens as humanly possible through the use of the internet and any other channels that reach those that are in the process or will be filing for a divorce in Broward County.

 

Most people assume that the events leading up to a divorce are the cause of broken families. Actually, our families are shattered at the hands of attorneys that practice without ethics, morals and with reckless disregard to the hearts, homes and happiness of families that face divorce. Families are shattered when BAD LAWYERS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE. Readers can anticipate much more on this story as the author prepares a manuscript of her own experience that is sure to shock even the most cautious of citizens. Her story will be published on a website and will be announced in days to come so stay tuned as this story unfolds and as the public is made privy to the inside of the Judge’s Chambers. Every transcript will be publicly available. Comments? Please email us at info@browardcountylawyers.com. Attorneys are rated by clients. Review recent entries by visiting the following link. http://lawyerratingz.com/ShowRatings.jsp?thank=1&tcvid=59092