Deposition Surprise

No matter how many times a divorce lawyer tells his or her client the importance of being completely honest, all of us have experienced one or more situations where the client did not exactly follow that instruction. The client may believe that certain facts, if revealed, would be harmful to the case. Or, the client believes that no one will ever find out the truth, so there is no need to reveal it to his or her lawyer. On occasion, the potential for embarrassment is just too much for the client to overcome.

I make a point of telling clients that, no matter how harmful they may believe that certain information might be, they must reveal it to me. It is far better, I explain, that I know everything in order to be prepared to deal with the issue if and when it arises. But, on occasion, either the client does not believe me or is incapable of telling the truth.

One situation is particularly representative of the harm that can result from being less than forthcoming with a lawyer who is trying his or her best to assist the client through a divorce. A few years ago, I represented a man (let's call him Client) who had been married for several years. The case had progressed to the point that depositions of the parties were scheduled. As I do with every client about to be deposed, I discussed the need for honesty with Client and asked him whether there was anything involving him or his finances that he had not revealed to me. He assured me that I knew everything.

The lawyer on the other side of the case was an old friend of mine and a most capable and thorough practitioner. His questioning of my client proceeded in a normal and unremarkable fashion, as he explored the basic facts of the marriage and reviewed all the financial information that had been provided. Everything seemed routine.

Just as I was expecting my opponent to say he had no further questions, he reached into his briefcase and pulled out what I immediately recognized as a stack of credit card statements. He handed them to Client, who said: "Where the hell did you get those?"

I knew we were in for some unwanted excitement.

Wife's lawyer replied that it didn't matter where the documents came from and then insisted that Client identify them. He said that the statements were from a credit card that he used that his wife didn't need to know or worry about.

Client's business regularly took him to Las Vegas. The credit card statements, that covered a two year period, showed charges from just one place – the notorious Chicken Ranch in Pahrump, Nevada, just 60 miles outside of Las Vegas. The Chicken Ranch is a legal, licensed brothel and Client had apparently been a regular customer. The charges over a two-year period totaled over $20,000.00. The payment of this amount for Client's "activities" with marital funds was clearly financial misconduct.

The deposition quickly concluded. I took my client from our conference room to my office and asked him about the charges. He, of course, blamed his wife for not "meeting his needs." He told me that he thought she would never find out about the credit card, since he had the statements mailed to his office. Apparently, his secretary was not quite as loyal as he thought, since I later learned that she supplied copies to his wife.

When I told him that his failure to tell me about this situation so that I could reveal it to opposing counsel and attempt to ameliorate the harm it could do was a huge mistake on his part, he lost his temper, accused me of not being on his side, and fired me.

Good riddance.