Let’s not kid ourselves; a divorce is a riotous experience in anyone’s life. It involves at least two disgruntled people giving up on each other and trying to separate their lives to an extent that suits both parties. Personal belongings are one thing, but when children are added into the process, emotions fully take over. It’s also one of the least talked about things today, mainly due to its uncomfortable nature. It has been somewhat destigmatized, but the current public narrative still avoids tackling this issue.
It’s a disruptive experience, affecting most aspects of a person’s life, from living on one’s own again to adjusting personal finances to making co-parenting decisions. Even if the relationship is somewhat civil, these factors are a huge burden to bear.
All things considered, support is key. That might sound a bit like one of those “relax, everything is fine” platitudes, but going through this alone is not advisable under any circumstances. Even the legal issues are not simple to comprehend for everyone, nor an easy hurdle to move past. However, the costly process drives people away from seeking professional help.
No one is immune to the effects of divorce, including ex-judge Anthony Bompiani. He was still a practicing attorney during his divorce, and going through a separation while growing a big career at the same time was no easy task. Despite that, he found a way to help others through his own experience and even found inspiration for his life’s calling: divorce counseling. His focus stayed on the most important and most emotionally draining part of a divorce, custody cases.
Realistically speaking, having children involved in a custody case makes the situation much worse. Having to constantly worry about what’s going to happen at the end and whether there is a malicious intent to prevent someone from seeing their child is something no one should go through. Yet, many people do. Information needed to pursue a custody battle is not something to be taken lightly, and Bompiani understands that. This is why he opted to offer more than 20 years of his experience to those in need.
Bompiani says that a custody case can complicate even the best of break-up situations, given the fact that people have to worry about the well-being of their children. Bompiani, a family law attorney who has given up his position on the bench to pursue helping others in need, started a support group on Facebook in 2019, which piqued his interest in pursuing the development of an app that could provide quick and reliable legal advice to those who need it.
Bompiani asked his followers what their biggest obstacles were. The results ranged from addressing the court to evidence presentation to communication points—all things Bompiani knew well. Based on that, he created his first free webinar and very quickly filled all 100 available participation slots.
From there, he started to develop the first version of the MyCourtClerk app, which will soon be available to anyone seeking family law advice. It will help organize and store the evidence that will be used in court as well as organize the witness list, helping the user present the information necessary to their attorney. The software will also organize the evidence in a timeline, which can make all the difference in a dispute.
The purpose of this app isn’t just to serve as a courtroom directory—it’s to ease the emotional distress a person can have when going through one of the toughest times of their life. In the end, helping someone is the goal, not just offering bland legal advice. The person going through the divorce is the one who needs help most, and Bompiani knows that from personal experience.