Somerset County (2007)

Hanan M. Isaacs, Esq., appeared as Plaintiff’s expert witness in this attorney malpractice case. Plaintiff alleged that Defendant, her former divorce lawyer, deviated from expected standards of care in failing to fight for an appropriate alimony award or for reasonable distribution of marital property. Despite the parties’ lengthy marriage, Defendant advised Plaintiff repeatedly that it “just isn’t worth the fight.” Plaintiff suffered from progressive spinal disease at the time of the divorce, which was known to Defendant. Four years post-divorce, Plaintiff became totally disabled due to her deteriorating spinal condition, and the Family Court denied her application to revisit her alimony waiver, finding that the waiver had been “knowingly and voluntarily” made. Plaintiff’s malpractice case was her sole recourse. Based largely on Mr. Isaacs’s comprehensive expert report and testimony offered at a lengthy defense deposition, Plaintiff settled her case for a significant but undisclosed sum of money.