Melinda talks to Laura Roach, a fellow family law attorney, about substance use and abuse and how it affects family law cases. It’s not uncommon for family law cases to involve some kind of substance abuse whether its alcohol or drugs to even gambling and shopping, addiction will affect law cases. Laura Roach is a DFW family law attorney who opens up about her own struggle with alcoholism and the realities those who struggle face. They dive into the misconceptions about being active in addiction while dealing with family law cases and discuss a better path forward. All of this and more on this episode of the Melinda Eitzen show

About the Guest

Laura Roach is a family law attorney in Frisco, TX. To find out more and hire or contact Laura, email lroach@mccathernlaw.com.

Key Takeaways About Substance abuse and family law

● Substance abuse—whether drugs, alcohol, gambling, or compulsive behaviors—is common in family law cases.

● Ego and denial can prevent people from getting help, often worsening legal consequences.

● Judges respect honesty. Having a recovery plan in place can influence custody and court decisions positively.

● Addiction doesn’t go away on its own, its progressive and requires intervention.

● Recovery and being a good parent can happen at the same time.

● Therapy helps. Always.

Notable Quotes About Substance Abuse and Family law

“Some kind of addiction of some sort, alcohol, drugs, sex, shopping, gambling, those are all pretty relevant in most family law cases” - Laura Roach

“it's humility, you have to be humble and accept that you have a problem” -Laura Roach

“I was raised, you can fix any problem, you can do this, don’t depend on anybody else, don't do all that, but that is actually a liability “- Laura Roach

“Break the delusion. If you go to court, in that delusion, the judges are going to see right through you.” -Laura Roach

“Judges will forgive anything if you take personal responsibility and are on a path to solve the problem. You get to be a parent while in active recovery—not in denial.”

“Addiction is the only disease that kills you and tells you that you don’t have it.” -Laura Roach

“Values, thoughts, and actions in alignment equal happiness.” – Socrates”-Laura Roach

“Therapy can help everyone.” -Laura Roach

“You get to be an active and good parent while in recovery, but they do not like it when you’re in denial”

In this episode, Melinda sits down with Dallas family law attorney Lee Budner to break down the discovery and deposition process in family law. They explore how discovery is used to gather evidence, build arguments, and prepare for trial and when depositions are helpful versus harmful. Lee shares his experience with using depositions not just to collect information but to expose inconsistencies, understand complex issues, and sometimes even shift the dynamic in a case. He also discusses when depositions can backfire and how attorneys must strategically decide whether or not to pursue them. All of this and more on this episode of the Melinda Eitzen show!

About the Guest
Lee Budner is a family law attorney in Dallas, TX. To find out more and hire Lee email lee@calabresebudner.com or call (214) 939-3000.

Key Takeaways About Deposition and Discovery
● Discovery is the overall process of gathering facts and evidence to prepare for trial or settlement.
● Depositions are one part of discovery, where parties or witnesses are questioned under oath—often for hours.
● Depositions aren’t necessary in every case. They’re helpful in litigation but may complicate or polarize settlement negotiations.
● In family law, truthfulness is rare and hard to maintain, making depositions useful in revealing dishonesty.
● There’s no “winning” a deposition, don’t complicate it, comply with the process.
● Video-recording depositions is crucial for capturing body language and tone not visible in transcripts.
● Depositions can be effective on third parties, witnesses, or experts for gaining additional understanding.
● A key benefit? You may uncover unexpected information. But the risk? You may also prepare the other side to be stronger at trial.

Notable Quotes About Navigating Discovery and Depositions
“Depositions are a time to pin people down on their lies and get to expose them.” -Lee Budner

“There’s no winning in depositions.” -Lee Rudner

“Plus—you might find some gems. Minus—you might be helping them prepare for the next phase.” -Melinda Eitzen

“There is no substituting human connection” -Melinda Eitzen

New Episode Summary
Melinda talks to Jeanne Huey, ethics attorney, about ethics in divorce law. Ethics in law are complicated, and ethics in divorce law are even more complicated. Divorce attorneys have many ethical duties to their clients, to the court, to third parties, and even to the other side of the case! It can be hard to know what the ethical thing to do is in every situation. Jeanne Huey is an attorney who specializes in defending attorneys accused of ethical violations. She spoke
with Melinda about common mistakes and misunderstandings people may have about ethics in divorce law.

About the Guest
Jeanne Huey is an ethics attorney with Hunt Huey PLLC. To find out more and to hire Jeanne, go to hunthuey.com.

Key Takeaways About Ethics in Divorce Law
● Attorneys have ethical duties to more than just their clients.
● The most common complaint about lawyers from clients is lack of communication.
● Your duties to your client do not extend to violating ethics rules at their direction.
● Fulfilling your ethical duties is in part about appropriately setting expectations at the beginning of a case.

Notable Quotes About Ethics in Divorce Law
“Lawyers forget that the court has a duty to report ethics violations that are egregious. And even if the court sanctions you, the disciplinary counsel (that’s the state bar’s lawyers who handle grievances) can still bring a charge.” – Jeanne Huey

“It is very hard for anyone to refute what happened in a meeting when you send that follow up email.” – Jeanne Huey

“The client sets the goals. They determine the goal of their case. . . But the means to accomplish the goal is what they are paying you to decide.” – Jeanne Huey

“Your job is not to do whatever the client tells you. Your job is to do what is in the client’s best interest.” – Jeanne Huey

Associated Facebook/LinkedIn Post
Melinda talks with Jeanne Huey, ethics attorney, about ethics in divorce law. Watch now or listen on your favorite podcast platform.