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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

VALLEY FORUM – Close Call

VALLEY FORUM – Close Call On Oct. 31, the Valley legal community and citizens in general were shocked when they watched the shooting of attorney Gerald Curry at the Van Nuys courthouse by a man whose legal financial trust Curry was representing. Curry survived the incident which was caught on videotape by camera crews at the courthouse for the Robert Blake case. So the Business Journal asks local attorneys: Does the assault make you feel more vulnerable, and/or will it change the way you deal with certain cases? Barry Harlan Lewitt, Hackman, Shapiro, Marshall, and Harlan Encino I just think it heightens the awareness that family law is an emotional field. It makes the issues more readily known. These kind of terrible incidents often happen in family law, and I certainly feel more vulnerable. Robert Alan Adelman Adelman and Seide LLP Encino I am a family law attorney like Gerald Curry and it is probably the most dangerous of all of the legal niches. Because of the high degree of emotion running through the field I’m already extremely vigilant. So no, it probably won’t change me at all. Stephen Beecher Beecher & Bowers Chatsworth It’s a very interesting question. Knowing that the attacker wasn’t fully competent, I’d say that overall I probably don’t feel more vulnerable. I don’t think that the assault will yield a plethora of assaults. You’ll always have disgruntled clients. I’ve received threats myself and I take them seriously, but I don’t think it will alter the way I live my life. Gary Barr Alpert & Barr Encino No, I don’t think it makes me feel more vulnerable. I think most attorneys have always been cautious. I think that if it does make me more cautious then I should probably get out of the business because I might not be representing my clients properly. Fred Gaines Gaines & Stacey Encino It absolutely makes me feel more vulnerable. It makes you consider certain people that you’ve had cases with and how heated they’ve gotten, to the point of where it raises worries. It might not change the way you deal with individual cases, but it will make you be cautious with those clients that clearly can’t contain their emotions.

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