Books

After working with attorneys for almost 50 years, I have realized that many Personal Injury Attorneys do not understand the importance of documenting the damages of their permanently injured cases. Many are confused as the difference between an Economist and a Vocational Expert and Life Care Planner. I have taught many Continuing Legal Education classes to both Plaintiff and Defense attorneys who at the end of the presentation will ask “How do I document my case damages?”

On a weekly basis, I speak with attorneys to explain how to document the employability or long-term medical care needs in their case. To help attorneys better understand how to fully assess the case damages, I have written this book to guide Plaintiff and Defense attorneys to better help them understand how to fully document their case damages by “Building the House of Damages.”

As Bob Dylan says in his famous song, "The times they are a-changin."

According to the National Bureau of Economic Statistics, we have been in a recession since 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The changing economic times have, and will continue to have, a great impact on vocational experts as they evaluate the employability of spouses in divorce cases.

Since publishing my landmark articles, "The Use of Vocational Experts in Matrimonial Cases" and "Evaluating the Disabled Spouse," in the early 1990s, the courts have experienced increased use of vocational experts in matrimonial cases. Since then, the only other article published on the topic has been by Brett Kimmel and Rona Wexler, "Vocational Experts Help Decide Parties Ability to Work," in the New York Law Journal (2/10/08) and one book entitled "Work and Divorce" by Betty Kohlenberg (2013).

Nothing has been written for the attorney looking for guidance in this important new area of vocational expert testimony, especially in the current recession. Spousal circumstances change in a bad economy, in ways we could not foresee.

For that reason, I was asked to set forth some of my own experiences and thoughts on this subject. I hope this book will provide a brief navigational guide to use when a vocational expert is required to answer questions as to a spouse's employability and earning capacity, as well as what to expect from vocational experts and how their use can ultimately benefit your client's case.