Celebrity Lawyer Mark Geragos: Family Court Driven by Money, Not Justice

Famous Attorney Exposes Dark Secrets of Family Court

But it isn’t going to make him very popular with his bottom-feeding brethren…

Mark John Geragos, 65, is a criminal defense lawyer in Los Angeles, the managing partner of Geragos and Geragos, founded by Mark and his late father, Paul, in 1983.

Mark has represented many notable clients, including:

  1. Whitewater’s Susan McDougal
  2.  NASCAR driver Jeremy Mayfield
  3. Convicted murderer Scott Peterson
  4. Kesha
  5. Clare Bronfman
  6. Actress Winona Ryder
  7. Singer Michael Jackson
  8. Roger Clinton Jr., President Clinton’s brother
  9. Actor Keith Carradine
  10. Greg Anderson, the personal trainer of baseball player Barry Bonds
  11. Cameron Brown, who was convicted of murdering his four-year-old daughter by throwing her off a cliff
  12. Victor Willis, the Village People’s frontman
  13. Japanese businessman Kazuyoshi Miura
  14. Rapper Chris Brown
  15. Former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick
  16. Actor Jussie Smollett
  17. Basketball player Scottie Pippen
  18. Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez

Geragos also appears as a guest and legal commentator on shows such as the Today Show, Good Morning America, 60 Minutes, Anderson Cooper 360°, On the Record w/ Greta Van Susteren, Larry King Live, CNN, and does a weekly podcast with Adam Carolla.

Geragos appeared on News Nation last week in connection with the purported suicide of Catherine Kassenoff.

Here is what he said about family court.

Mark Geragos:

My father used to call the family law courts, the battle of the perjuries.

There is a very insular, incestuous system. One of the problems is in family court, you don’t get a jury. The judge decides everything.

You have a system. I always say they’ve only got about 10 moves. And the 10 moves involve basically liquidating your assets, everybody who’s there, until you have no more assets, and then you get to a settlement that you probably could have gotten to in a mediated setting to begin with.

If you add in custody issues, the case goes on forever. It just escalates to a point where you can’t see straight.

It’s one of the reasons I think I’ve done one family law case in 40 years, and I would never do another.

I’ve got friends who go through this all the time.

I will sit and counsel them that “It makes no sense. Why are you fighting over the money? Why are you fighting over the assets? These are your, basically, your heirs. And all you’re doing is putting your lawyers’ heirs through college, or putting your lawyers’ heirs through law school, when you should be saving those assets and mediate.”

It doesn’t matter.

You can talk to somebody you’re close to, who is seemingly rational, and they just default.

And they get fed and pumped up [by the family law attorneys], you know, to some degree.

I have this fight with family law lawyers that I’m close to all the time.

I tell them that you’re not doing the client any service by telling them, “I need more information. I need a forensic. I need a psych. I need this. I need that. And that whole coterie of experts that surrounds it.”

The Family Court Family

Making Money Off Divorce and Custody

  1. Family law attorneys for husband and wife
  2. Attorneys for children
  3. Guardians ad litem
  4. Forensic mental health professionals
  5. Case-blind didactic experts
  6. One-sided evaluators
  7. Work-product reviewers
  8. Testifying consultants
  9. Non-testifying consultants
  10. Therapeutic psychologists
  11. Forensic psychologists
  12. Supervised visitation monitors
  13. Therapists for the family
  14. Therapists for the child
  15. Therapists for the parent
  16. Therapists providing information to the evaluator
  17. Social workers

 

FR Artwork

From time to time, Frank Report accepts art from various artists, and one of our art critics will give readers insight into the themes presented.

Artist Samuel Reynolds’

“The Custody Evaluator”

Samuel Reynolds’ “The Custody Evaluator” is a thought-provoking oil painting that delves into the custody evaluation process in family court. He reveals the perspicacious faces of a fictional evaluator whose work finances family lawyers, attorneys for children, and the grand cast of court actors who benefit from this lucrative profession.

Reynolds skillfully portrays the fictional evaluator, Abraham Marks, whose pursuit of the American dream pushes ethical boundaries and is driven by his desire to provide for his family of family court professionals.

This figure, depicted with realism and meticulous attention to detail, captures the evaluator’s sharp gaze and his ability to prioritize his own interests under the guise of determining the best interests of others.

Using a vibrant color palette, Reynolds sets a contemplative tone. The mid-hues of the paintings symbolize the self-interest that permeates the evaluator’s actions, while shadows and contrasts enhance the underlying tension within the artwork.

With deft brushwork, Reynolds brings to life the referral-dependent cupid nature of the evaluator, guided by the guardian ad litem and family law attorneys. This highlights the practicality of the evaluator, rather than an impossible commitment to impartiality which no human possesses.

The canvas becomes a battleground where the protective parent, unaware of the system’s workings, naively seeks justice and is thrust into a chaotic struggle against the affluent but abusive parent.

“The Evaluator” prompts a custody question about the intelligence of those without the financial means to purchase custody, who believe justice will determine the fate of their children in family court.

Reynolds calls attention to the economic benefit of children being transferred to the custody of the abuser, who is willing to pay for desired outcomes in court.

Reynolds skillfully employs his brushwork to explore the benefits derived from the commodification of lost children, emphasizing that those who can afford to purchase custody are better positioned to impart their values to the child.

Through “The Evaluator,” Reynolds reminds us of the prevailing influence of economic interests in family court, overshadowing the subjective mutable needs of children. The welfare of children is subject to change, while the financial gains of family court actors remain constant.

Disclaimer: The artist, Samuel Reynolds, created a fictional character in his painting, and it does not necessarily reflect the views or experiences of real-life individuals.

 

About the author

Frank Parlato

36 Comments

Click here to post a comment

Please leave a comment: Your opinion is important to us!

  • Cordell and Cordell. One of the worst. Legal tactics and mandatory filing every few months for billing purposes. One of the most no holes bar group of attorneys. Aggressive legal tactics to paint women in a bad light. Offices all over the country. Big business to snatch children away from mother’s. Smear campaign against women. Laughing all the way to the bank at the expense of children.

  • “… Markets

    JPMorgan Mistakenly Deleted 47 Million Records, SEC Alleges

    Bank to pay $4 million to settle allegations by regulator
    SEC says deleted records were requested in several probes …”

  • Mark Geragos is 100% spot-on with respect to his description of Family Court – and the attorneys who regularly practice there. Many attorneys will not even consider taking a Family Court case because of the incestuous nature of the many people who earn their living by dragging out divorces and by encouraging their clients to use no-holds-barred tactics when there are minor children involved.

  • Why do divorces take so long?

    It’s because the spouses don’t understand a divorce is 50/50 –
    the spouses split everything 50/50.

    Everyone wants more!

    End of story.

    \\\\\
    Look at the divorcé whackos the Frank Report has covered thus far.
    That’s why divorces take so long.
    Duh!!!!!!
    /////////////

    • Dear Mr. Guy,

      What do family court lawyers and evaluators do to make a few judges spend four years to grant one lousy divorce?

      The Kassenoffs would have been better off with the local butcher, baker and candlestick maker dividing the finances, property, time with the children and holidays 50/50.

      Four years ago, one simple 12-line document would have avoided all that horrible trauma and loss.

      … The get is a 12-line document written in Aramaic. The requirements for a get include that the document be presented by a husband to his wife. The essential part of the get is a very short declaration: “You are hereby permitted to all men”. The effect of the get is to free the woman from the marriage, and consequently she is free to marry another and that the laws of adultery no longer apply. The get also returns to the wife the legal rights that a husband held in regard to her. …

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Get_(divorce_document)

    • Family courts are the #1 offenders of child-trafficking in the world. Some judges have literally given child-rapists custody of their underage rape victims.

      • Not just some judges. This is an everyday occurrence. The AFCC is a prophedile lobbyist group. 100% child traffickers.

      • There’s video footage out there somewhere from about ten ago showing a man talking about perpetrators “raising their own” and using family courts to commit their crimes. Sick people.

        The authorities should have been able to do something about it by now.

        We need ten million more Jim Caviezels in this world ASAP.

  • Ummmm, how much do we think FP makes from this blog? Or that creepy tik tok guy who’s exploiting the suffering of this family for likes?
    Does that not offend anyone?

      • —A bet zero

        How much do you make a year?
        I bet less than I do.

        You don’t get a salary—you get payed hourly.

        I bet you shop at Walmart and when you splurge it’s Target all the way.

    • Who cares?

      Please tell us about how you will help improve family courts in Westchester County.

      • By staying the fuck out of Westchester. I have another idea, quit paying these people to destroy you. Didn’t your grandmother ever tell you not to hang out your dirty laundry?

    • Nothing wrong to make money. This is the United States capital of the money making machine along with the crooked lawyers supporting the system and their minions. Thanks to this report, and the guy from Tick Tock , we the public learned of the ordeal that Catherine went thru. It should be an investigation about this case and some powerful lawyers need to take the crooks to the dry cleaners. Thanks to Frank Report!!!!

  • He is exactly right. Hoping others will listen and stop blaming “high conflict” couples and “disgruntled litigants”.

  • For those who have never experienced “family courts”:

    “Family courts” are that nightmarishly dystopian. The courtrooms are crime scenes.

  • What do the “rated Best Lawyers of 2022” have to say about corruption in family courts? says:

    Is Mark Geragos the only honest lawyer brave enough to say those things in public?

      • Heroes taking risks and stepping forward to protect children is the way America used to be. The more good people step forward right now, the quicker the public will understand the need for massive investigations, and reforms. Mainstream media news outlets (as usual lately) are asleep or look the other way on purpose.

        … “I want to see justice run its course. Child predators sicken me, and my opinion is this situation is as nasty as it gets,” Luthmann said.

        Luthmann said Connecticut law enforcement already possesses the shocking evidence he has seen.

        “I told the Collier County Sheriff’s Office that if what I have evidence happening in Ambrose’s house in Connecticut happened in Southwest Florida, people would already be behind bars. But things are different up in Connecticut, I guess,” he said.

        Luthmann’s biggest concern was Ambrose’s use of law enforcement to attack free speech and the press.”…

        https://luthmann.substack.com/p/christopher-ambroses-desperate-measures

        • Connecticut is a giant trail of curruption. The state system is designed to protect themselves. The state is run off funding and that’s the focus. They are heavily invested in the fatherhood initiative. The state family court system is running off it. It’s promoting racial divide and gender division. Divide and conquer. It doesn’t help that the main supporting group for women appears to be a bunch of women complaining about child support and alimony. There is a whole group of minority women being left out. The state helping to keep the woman of Connecticut divided by class and race. Minority moms suffering the same faith in trying to protect their children. The angry Dad committee is using parental alienation and child support services profit. Several good fathers getting caught up in it. Child support enforcement is not doing their job. They are a mess. The history of the father’s rights movement is based on not wanting to pay child support. Had nothing to do with wanting to participate in their childrens lives. There are many good fatherhood programs, however these rich privileged fathers are never ordered to participate. The state and local police department are directed by the state government. The state government has a financial vested interest in fatherhood funding. The laws and agreements in the state in regards to family court are all based on funding. Look no further than the elected officials for the problems in the state. There unwillingness to address the problems. The promote the worst players in the game. Placing people strategicly in positions to continue the division and no promotion of equality. The attorneys are profiting off the dysfunctional system. The judges are incompetent and poorly trained in most cases. Work based off the MOU and laws for the fatherhood initiative. Use it as a blanket statement for best interest. A doctor of philosophy weighing in on the vital fatherhood initiative based on her notions. The gals work for the state not your children. It’s federal funding. They are going to continue to target women and children an unprotected class. Because unfortunately their lives are not profitable for the state. Many children driven to be hospitalized because of the state forcing them to have relationship and or live with an abusive parent. Largely father’s. All statistics kept out of the eyes of the public. There is some mother’s who fall into the abuser category. Not in the numbers the state is promoting. The shit runs deep. Beyond the court house. Connecticut leading the pac in the currupt family court system. Other states like New York following. Funding over common sense and the lives of children. God help and bless the few family court Attorneys who are actually trying to represent their clients who are being purposely driven into high conflict cases for funding and profit.

  • I am so happy that someone from the legal profession finally spoke out about this. I really enjoyed his interview. Especially the part where he said he’d rather represent criminals than family cases. I tried so hard to be civil with my ex-spouse but parental alienation was claimed and a 5 year battle ensued ending 1.5 years ago. Two months after the now final order was put in place during a co-parenting session my ex-spouse said they were never alienated during a co-parenting counseling session. This didn’t help with any of the trauma myself and our child were put through and I am still paying the hefty court fees.

    This message may not be for everyone but when you can be civil with your spouse these courts don’t care about your children. You are putting all of their children through college. They will play off any dysfunction.

    In the end my ex told me that I won and that was the difference between my ex-spouse and I. I don’t think I won anything. Our child will group up with two parents that only communicate via email and that hurts me because I didn’t grow up that way. In the end our child is who lost but unfortunately that is not a message that a vindictive person will ever understand.

    • No offense to the good family law people here. They’ve probably heard it, too. Many call family law attorneys “bottom feeders” — and refer to family court judges as those who can’t handle more significant cases.

  • I can’t even begin to say how much I appreciate hearing this video I was raped in family court

  • While he is correct, and while there is an Attorney fees statue Family Code 2030, 7605, most of the time the amount granted hardly equals the playing field.

About the Author

Frank Parlato is an investigative journalist.

His work has been cited in hundreds of news outlets, like The New York Times, The Daily Mail, VICE News, CBS News, Fox News, New York Post, New York Daily News, Oxygen, Rolling Stone, People Magazine, The Sun, The Times of London, CBS Inside Edition, among many others in all five continents.

His work to expose and take down NXIVM is featured in books like “Captive” by Catherine Oxenberg, “Scarred” by Sarah Edmonson, “The Program” by Toni Natalie, and “NXIVM. La Secta Que Sedujo al Poder en México” by Juan Alberto Vasquez.

Parlato has been prominently featured on HBO’s docuseries “The Vow” and was the lead investigator and coordinating producer for Investigation Discovery’s “The Lost Women of NXIVM.” Parlato was also credited in the Starz docuseries "Seduced" for saving 'slave' women from being branded and escaping the sex-slave cult known as DOS.

Additionally, Parlato’s coverage of the group OneTaste, starting in 2018, helped spark an FBI investigation, which led to indictments of two of its leaders in 2023. However, upon further investigation, Parlato recognized that the two OneTaste defendants were falsely charged and began writing articles to expose the false prosecution.

Parlato appeared on the Nancy Grace Show, Beyond the Headlines with Gretchen Carlson, Dr. Oz, American Greed, Dateline NBC, and NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, where Parlato conducted the first-ever interview with Keith Raniere after his arrest. This was ironic, as many credit Parlato as one of the primary architects of his arrest and the cratering of the cult he founded.

Parlato is a consulting producer and appears in TNT's The Heiress and the Sex Cult, which premiered on May 22, 2022. Most recently, he consulted and appeared on Tubi's "Branded and Brainwashed: Inside NXIVM," which aired January, 2023.

IMDb — Frank Parlato

Contact Frank with tips or for help.
Phone / Text: (305) 783-7083
Email: frankreport76@gmail.com

Archives