“Divergence, Not Deficit,” will be a four-hour continuing legal education program presented on Sat., July 25, 2026, at the University of West Los Angeles.
A quiet custody hearing in Orange County on September 11, 2001, showed why the rule of law endures: courts judge conduct, not nationality, religion or the conflicts of nations.
Failing to domesticate a foreign divorce in California can lead to severe legal consequences, such as marital status ambiguity, allegations of bigamy, and the denial of immigration benefits for subsequent spouses.
For nearly four decades, courts have invoked a judicially constructed notion that certain agreements “promote divorce” and are therefore void as against public policy. That doctrine—frequently used to invalidate Islamic Mahr provisions—deserves reconsideration. Particularly now.
