Condensed from San Diego Union Tribune Dated: Oct 13, 1997In the roiling sea of San Diego family law, attorneys Bob Basie and Jeff Fritz are considered the sharks.
The partners even have a stuffed hammerhead in the lobby of their no-frills Mission Valley office.
"We just thought it would be funny," Fritz said.
The duo are known for their bitter clients and ugly court fights. They have a reputation for turning up the heat under simple divorces.
It's a fact that some parting couples are willing to burn money, hundreds of dollars an hour, to have a lawyer do what they'd like to do themselves-- make the other side miserable.
And lawyers like Basie and Fritz are at the ready.
"We... represent our clients zealously," Fritz said. "Bad guys are entitled to representation as well as good people."
Of the 9,000-plus lawyers in San Diego County, only about 150 have the extra schooling and training that certifies them as specialists in family law.
A box of tissues for wiping away tears is a standard fixture on their desks. A touch of social work and therapy, tempered with pragmatism, is the prescribed bedside manner.
Although the adversarial system is part of the fabric of American law, many involved in the family court system have concluded that it isn't the best way to resolve the conflicts of splitting couples.
A task force set up by the Judicial Council, the policy-making body for the state's courts, has recommended in a preliminary report on family court that the emphasis in these cases be shifted from litigation to mediation, negotiation and settlement.
Almost all family law attorneys -- including Basie and Fritz -- say they'd rather see spouses settle with each other than get nasty in court. But there are those who seem to relish the fight and say they're only giving clients what they want.
Take Ramon Asevedo, a family law attorney in Oceanside. Once dubbed "The Prince of Darkness" by a local magazine, the 77-year-old lawyer has for three decades practiced in-your-face advocacy.
"If you haven't been hung up on by Ramon, or been screamed to, well, you haven't been properly representing your client," one attorney said.
Asevedo -- who almost proudly recalls a man coming to his office bearing dynamite -- shrugs off the "darkness" moniker.
"I don't consider it derogatory," he said. "What it implies, in my belief,is that I'm aggressive, which is what people are looking for in a domestic case. They don't want Mr. Milquetoast up there."
Pots and pans
The legal community in San Diego County has always been clubby. And in family law, the circle is so small that the attorneys know every detail about their court and have a comfortable relationship with the judges. That coziness can frustrate even local lawyers who handle divorces only occasionally.
"You can get home towned in your own hometown," one lawyer said.
It's also a minefield for conflicts of interest, which judges say they avoid by disqualifying themselves from cases handled by former associates or openly disclosing a friendship with a lawyer.
Because of the crushing caseload and the emotional high pitch of most cases, judges used to dread family court duty, which usually was assigned to new Superior Court judges.
"It was almost like an initiation," said Judge Thomas Ashworth, who has handled family law cases as a lawyer and then a judge for more than 30 years. "The newest judge on the block would do family law until the next judge came along. They'd mark off the days on the calendar like a jail sentence."
That's changed. Judges in family court now say they sought the assignment, and do it for three-year stints.
The legal culture, however, is still heavy with stereotypes promoted by the likes of Arnie Becker, the sleazy divorce lawyer on the old "L.A. Law" show.
Although Becker was a caricature, even some lawyers think family law attorneys scrape the bottom of the profession --"pots and pans," they sniff when asked about colleagues in family court.
In the real world, divorce lawyers talk about the complexities of their practice, saying they must know taxes, bankruptcy, stocks or military law to be successful.
"Some (attorneys) think that we're brave and we deserve a lot of credit for what we put up with. Others think we're the red-haired stepchildren," said Adam Wertheimer, head of the family law section of the San Diego County Bar Association.
Separated from money
Henry Gamboa of La Mesa has been fighting his ex-wife in court over money and custody of their children since she filed for divorce three years ago. He's paid lawyers more than $40,000 and he's on his third one.
"As long as there's frustration in this case, the money keeps going out,"Gamboa said. "I have no idea what it's going to cost me to get where I need to be."
As Gamboa and countless others point out, a contentious divorce can easily cost tens of thousands of dollars in fees for lawyers and hired experts. Many people say they started with a lawyer, exhausted their bank account and carried on the case themselves.
"You get as much justice as you can afford," said Janet Bowermaster, a family law professor at California Western School of Law in San Diego.
Basie, who's been a lawyer for 23 years, charges $250 an hour, while partner Fritz, with 13 years under his belt, charges $225. (*since this article was published rates have gone up).
Generally, family law attorneys require a retainer of several thousand dollars before they'll take a case. Fritz said his retainer depends on the client and the amount of work he expects he'll have to do.
"If the person sits in front of me and says, `Kill the son of a bitch,' the retainer is more," Fritz said, laughing.
Some clients are willing to spend whatever they have just to make a point.
One lawyer told of a client who went to court to stop his ex-wife from using $900 of his frequent-flier miles for tickets to Hawaii. He won, but it cost him $2,000 in attorney fees.
Fritz points out that winning in court isn't as important to some people as a chance to air their grievances.
"A lot of times it's not the end result that matters. They want their day in court." he said.
And for that day, the cash register rings loudly and constantly.
Family law attorneys spend much more time in court than their colleagues who handle civil cases. They may represent two or three clients a morning, running from one courtroom to the next -- and some charge all their clients for the same time.
"Some of these guys are down there billing 12 hours in a morning, and they brag about it," one lawyer said.
Diana Lee said she learned about lawyer fees the hard way.
Her divorce several years ago cost $16,000, she said, adding, "It's always more expensive than you think."
As she sat recently in Vista family court, awaiting a hearing on a new tangle over child support, Lee said she's trying to keep costs down by doing work herself and keeping conversations with her attorney short and focused.
"I think I learned with the first one that you can't use them as a counselor, or a therapist, because that clock is always ticking," she said.
The Killer B's
Family law judges say it's a minority of divorces that drag on for years,fill volumes and take the largest chunk of the court's time.
Basie and Fritz have a reputation for being neck-deep in those cases.
At a raucous 1995 dinner for family law attorneys, one skit poked fun at the "Killer B's" -- lawyers with names beginning in B who make difficult cases more so. Basie and Fritz were at the top of the list.
"I'm not sure Jeff is involved in any case that isn't contentious," one attorney said of Fritz. "If it isn't contentious in the beginning, it is once Jeff Fritz is involved."
But some attorneys say Basie and Fritz serve a valuable role in the family law arena. They refer the pair clients who appear so anger-driven as to be unmanageable.
"(Basie) takes those people as they are and he minimizes the damage (they do) to themselves," one attorney said.
Fritz says that's because he believes part of what he gets paid for is educating clients who aren't willing to compromise or want to squeeze every dime out of the other side.
"I'm not going to tell them they're bad for wanting that, but I'm going to tell them what the costs are," Fritz said. "If their objective is unreasonable, it's going to require a lot more work."
