Mr. Forman graduated from Haverford College in 1984 with a dual major in political science and economics. He graduated from Temple University School of Law, Cum Laude, in 1991. He has been a member of the South Carolina Bar since 1992 and practicing family law since 1993. He is also licensed to practice in the Federal District of South Carolina, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court. He is the Treasurer for the Charleston County Family Court Liaison Committee and the Past-President of the South Carolina Bar Trial and Appellate Advocacy Council. Among the published opinions from family law appeals he has handled are the cases of Spreeuw v. Barker, Upchurch v. Upchurch, Emery v. Smith, Moore v. Moore and Abate v. Abate. He was on the Board of Editors for the 2010 update of Marital Litigation in South Carolina, Substantive Law, 4th Edition by Professor Emeritus Roy T. Stuckey. He has an AV rating from Martindale Hubbell.
Through the use of computer technology, Mr. Forman has been able to streamline procedures, allowing him to handle legal problems efficiently while enabling him to focus on the unique aspects of each case. Through use of e-mail, optical text recognition, customized forms and macros, and other modern communication devices, he can often provide clients better representation at a lower cost by allowing the client to do much of the basic fact gathering under his guidance and by utilizing existing product for his clients' cases. Mr. Forman does not employ secretaries or paralegals, so his clients do not have to go through layers of staff to speak to him, nor do they have the problem of a paralegal knowing their case better than their attorney does.
A sizable portion of Mr. Forman's practice is dedicated to research and development of lecture materials and articles on family law topics. His extensive lecturing, publishing and appellate practice enhances his ability to litigate family law cases at the trial level. Such work keeps him abreast of the latest trends in family law practice and leads to a greater appreciation of the factual and legal issues that need to be addressed in a typical family court trial. His background in appeals and legal research provides his clients access to an extensive database of written materials examining common family court issues that can be utilized in their cases at minimal cost.
Most of this research and written material can be classified into two general areas. The first area is an attempt to categorize discrete topics of law. Such topics include materials on getting a spouse out of the house, common procedural problems in domestic abuse or contempt proceedings, low cost methods of litigating custody cases and ways of modifying child custody. The development of such lecture and written materials allows him to turn generalized knowledge into a systematic and easily usable form.
His other area of legal research and writing is on predicted or suggested development of cutting-edge legal topics. Such topics include privacy rights, limitations on family court authority to override parental decision-making, economic analysis of relocation cases, developing a coherent theory of the guardian ad litem's role in private custody cases, examining the burden of proof in child abuse and neglect cases, and fighting the morality police in family court custody cases. His goal in these lectures and articles is to educate and hopefully guide lawyers and judges in developing areas of the law.
Some of these materials have been published in The Family Advocate (the quarterly publication on family law for the American Bar Association), The American Journal of Family Law, South Carolina Lawyer and The Bulletin (the South Carolina Trial Lawyers Association magazine). Among his published articles are Creating or Defeating South Carolina Jurisdiction in Multi-State Custody or Support Actions, A Dozen Grade 'A' Strategies: Winning Custody Cases Without Bankrupting Your Client, Representing the (Innocent) Wage-earner in Child Custody and Divorce, Joint Legal Custody: What Is It? Why Have It?, Obtaining Relief From Family Court Temporary Orders, Four Rule to Show Cause Pitfalls to Avoid, Five Ways to Get a Spouse out of the House, Modifying Child Custody, Contingency Fees and Interest in Collecting Child Support and Alimony, Family Law Issues After a Spouse or Parent Dies, Some Constitutional Issues When Representing Parents Against Accusations of Abuse or Neglect and Ordering a Spouse out of the House on an Ex-Parte Basis. His most recent publication is An Iconoclastic View of the Guardian ad litem's Role in American Journal of Family Law, Winter 2011.
Mr. Forman has lectured for the American Bar Association, the South Carolina Bar, the National Business Institute and the Charleston County Family Court Bar. He has been a repeat presenter at the South Carolina Bar's Family Law "Hot Tips" and "Cool Tips" seminars and the Family Court's Bench/Bar, an annual continuing legal education program for Family Court Judges. Mr. Forman has also organized and moderated legal education seminars for the South Carolina Bar. Since 2001, he has co-sponsored and moderated an annual Charleston County Family Court Bar legal education seminar. In October 2008 he lectured for the American Bar Association's semi-annual Family Law Section on Lump Sum Alimony.
Mr. Forman has developed, moderated, and presented state-wide legal seminars devoted to appellate issues for the South Carolina Bar's annual convention in January 2006 and on representing parents in abuse and neglect proceedings for the South Carolina Bar in August 2007. He developed and moderated the annual guardian ad litem training for the Charleston County Family Court bar in 2009 and for the South Carolina Bar in 2010 and 2011. He is an occasional guest lecturer on evidence and family law at the Charleston School of Law. He serves as a volunteer mediator in Charleston County Department of Social Service abuse and neglect cases is the co-chairman of the Attorney Fee Dispute committee for the Charleston region.
In 2009, Mr. Forman qualified to become a mentor to newly licensed attorneys as part of the South Carolina Supreme Court Mandatory Lawyer Mentoring Program. As part of that program he has mentored newly licensed attorneys in the practice of family law.
Mr. Forman has years of experience in family law mediation, representing numerous parents and spouses in the mediation process. In 2009 he undertook a formal 40-hour program in Family Law Mediation Training offered by the South Carolina Bar and is certified as a Family Court Mediator with the State of South Carolina. In 2012, Mr. Forman joined the Board of Directors of the Mediation and Meeting Center of Charleston. If you are interested in having him mediate your family law dispute, please contact this office. Let Mr. Forman put his experience to work for you in helping you resolve your most important domestic issues.
