Editor’s note: This letter was submitted in response to Fink & Katz partner Philip Katz’s column “Praemonitus Praemunitus: The Importance of the In-Camera Interview in Child Custody Matters,” which the Law Journal published Feb. 27.
In his article, Philip Katz convincingly explains how critical a judge’s in-camera interview of a child can be in deciding custody cases. While he identifies what the attorneys for the parties should do in anticipation of the court’s interview to achieve a favorable outcome for their clients, he also posits that, absent an emergency, such interviews ordinarily occur only after the parties have both rested after trial, despite the fact that in his experience (and mine) the in-camera interview “has a more profound impact on the court’s decision than anything the attorneys say or do in court.”
