The movie Divorce Corp, directed by Joseph Sorge, opened in multiple theaters in January. It’s an exposé of the $50 billion a year U.S. family law industry.
By Martha Chan, Marketing Consultant to Family Lawyers and Divorce Professionals
Divorce Corp is promoted as a “shocking exposé of the inner workings of the $50 billion a year U.S. family law industry,” along with claims that the movie “shines a bright light on the appalling waste, and shameless collusive practices seen daily in family courts.”
The film portrays various cases of injustice motivated by money and corruption in American judges and lawyers. Divorce Corp suggests that the lack of jurors in family court allows judges to ‘play god’; it also insinuates that family lawyers ask about their clients’ income and assets simply to confirm they will be paid and to ensure that when a client runs out of cash, they have a property that can be sold to continue paying their attorney fees. Ultimately, the film calls for a major reform of the American family court system in favor of the Scandinavian system.
The movie features interviews with victims of horror stories, quotes many damning statistics, and includes interviews with prominent family lawyers, including Gloria Allred and Peter Walzer, who do not come across as very warm-hearted lawyers — concerned about their clients’ best interest. Notably absent are the spouses of the victims and decent family lawyers and judges.
Divorce Corp — A Hidden Agenda?
Family Law Attorney/Mediator Mark Baer posted a series of conversations with the director discussing the 58 issues he had with the film. Mr. Baer notes that Mr. Sorge had a hidden agenda for creating Divorce Corp, which becomes obvious after reading Mr. Sorge’s divorce case, In Re Marriage of Sorge.
There have been many related comments made in our Linkedin group, Marketing for Divorce Professionals, including this post:
“About 2 years ago, I was asked to be part of a documentary about divorce around the world. The company was from L.A. and I googled the producer, James Shurlock, who had valid credentials and had won awards for his work. When they came to New York, they crossed into Jersey and a 3-hour interview took place. None of the questions seemed controversial and the 5-man crew was very professional.
The splice about ‘two hours equals a year salary’ was related by me in a case where the family was worth hundreds of millions of dollars and at the case management conference almost 50 lawyers and experts were in attendance. I stood each one up asking their hourly rate and it totaled $22,000 an hour. The next time only 5 people came to court.
The second snippet states ‘I make a hundred decisions a day and if I make a bad decision I make another decision.’ What is unreported is my saying ‘a judge cannot always be right but can always be fair.’
When the crew finished, they said their next stop was Sweden. I had no reason at any time to think that the released film would portray [myself] or our profession in a negative way. I think I share the same passion for what we do as you profess to hold for yourself. I was shocked at the title and the trailer, but my view of life is that I am fortunate not to be visiting someone I care about in a hospital and I cannot control what others think or say. Please circulate for me and I hope this context is helpful. Happy New Year to you and your family.
Judge Thomas Zampino (ret.)”
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Martha Chan is a marketing expert for family lawyers. She is co-owner and Vice President of Marketing for Family Lawyer Magazine, Divorce Magazine, and Divorce Marketing Group, a marketing agency dedicated to promoting family lawyers and divorce professionals. Martha can be reached at 866-803-6667 or marthac@divorcemarketing group.com. For more Marketing Tips for Intelligent Dummies, follow her column at www.divorcemarketinggroup.com.
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4 Comments
John
DUE TO RECENT TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES FAMILY LAWYER MAGAZINE IS REPOSTING THE FOLLOWING COMMENT:
Steve wrote:
Anyone who is part of the legal system wants to perpetuate it. Few good lawyers are equipped with courage, bravery, a love for family, this country and righteousness have the fortitude to want to change our broken self seeking family court system.
The movie Divorce Corp laid out clearly the flawed family court institution its players and the devastating ruins it leaves. Unfortunately most reviewers of the movie are anti-family liberals who care nothing for truth, justice and our families. They dismiss the reality of the facts and always use They did not get what they wanted as an excuse. That is like having an over-powering street bully grab someone, tie him up and beat him unmercifully then later say Well he did not fight back.
The Nile is not just a river in Egypt.
It is not surprising a columnist or editor for a law magazine would dismiss Divorce Corps. They are part of the system and cannot be objective. A law magazine will not expose corrupt judges, unethical lawyers, fraudulent testers and the collusion that takes place in the family courts. If it were willing, I can give many names of officials including judges backed up with facts and transcripts of trials to prove the corruption this writer is saying does not exist. Anyone with more than an ounce of intelligence can see through the facade.
marthac
Steve
Thanks for your comments. Just for the record, I never said the corruption reported in the movie does not exist. I did report on the fact that “Notably absent are the spouses of the victims and decent family lawyers and judges.”
I understand the movie and likely yourself are trying to make a point – major reform in family court is needed. I also don’t doubt that we are biased by our experience. That does not mean the sweeping comments like these are true:
-“Few good lawyers are equipped with courage, bravery, a love for family, this country and righteousness have the fortitude to want to change our broken self seeking family court system.”
-“Unfortunately most reviewers of the movie are anti-family liberals who care nothing for truth, justice and our families.”
I have also posted a blog on this topic here saying if the cases prsented in the movie were true, why would that be allowed to happen and how can these be addressed: https://flmagazine.wpengine.com/from-our-staff/did-the-movie-divorce-corp-do-its-job.html
If you have prove for wrong doings, by all means please present them. By the way, for full disclosure, do you have any connections with the movie, the court or any cases you are referring to?
James
This seems to be a rather contentious movie. It’s creating a lot of discussion and buzz, which is a good thing.
Dave
I have seen the movie, and I have seen the abuses. The courts are corrupt beyond all rational explanation. States do in fact have financial incentive to disregard justice and the wellbeing of children. But as in many aspects of life, it is not quite that cut and dry. They have various ways of justifying their abuses in their own minds. I’ve watched them do it.
A judge in my case altered court records to conceal my notice that I was not served process. That is far from the worst of it. I can prove my allegations. Every single source of information, regardless of where that source stands on the issue, will tell you that you can’t hold a judge accountable. Only those who perpetuate the myth that the system works, will tell you that their are disciplinary procedures in place. HOGWASH. Judges, don’t discipline judges except for political reasons.
Multiple books have been written on the subject of judicial corruption. Even some court’s have stated there is a need for change. Yet when a judge has sex with a litigant he presides over, sexts her during court, and more, do the court’s allow him to be sued as our constitution promises? No. Do you see a tidal wave of criticism and outrage from the courts? No.
No one cares. I had one lawyer tell me that it didn’t matter if I wasn’t served. That proper service was not a due process right.
The legal community is corrupt as a whole. How else would the every manner of civil rights abuses of the last century been possible?
corruption is ingrained and institutionalized. Lawyers are afraid of or support judicial crimes. My theory is that they rationalize it just like one judge I read of; “we are educated and trained people. We are in this position because we are capable of evaluating and managing complex issues. It doesn’t matter if I bend the rules a little, I know what I am doing and that it will be a just outcome.”
That is not a quote of anyone. The judge I based this fictional rationale on, was reported as a “rogue” judge. He was known for repeatedly refusing to apply sentencing guidelines. Simply, he took it upon himself to decide that legislators didn’t know what they were doing and refused to obey the law.
Sentencing guidelines, right or wrong, are not discretionary decisions. The AG in my state of WA, which has been repeatedly violating my constitutional rights, said to the entire world that “no one is above the law” and “that’s not how our system works” as he attacked the President for violating the rights of non-citizens while the courts in my state violate mine.
Almost everyone associated with the courts, judges, clerks, GALs/CASAs, police, and on and on, now have immunities that were not granted in the constitution, and were specifically prohibited by the founding fathers.
Almost 50 years ago, a judge orders the sterilization of a teenage girl, upon the request and testimony of her mother that the girl was mentally incompetent and there was a fear that she would get pregnant if she was not secretly sterilized. There was no notice, no filings, no competency hearing, no court order, no due process at all. After marrying and finding out what happened to her the courts held this judge immune. Still today nothing has changed; no matter how sick and twisted a judge is, they are immune from paying damages to their victims. And yet, I recently found that their bonds are paid for by me.
The abuses reported in Divorce Corp are not conjecture, they are facts.