Paul G. Haskell, Why Lawyers Behave as They Do 9 (Boulder, Colorado, Westview Press, 1998):

A lawyer represented Husband in a divorce proceeding. Wife wanted the custody of the children, as well as alimony and child support. Husband had no interest in the custody of the children, and wanted to minimize the alimony and child support. His lawyer advised Husband that a custody demand could be a bargaining device in negotiations to reduce alimony and child support because of Wife's fear of losing exclusive custody of the children. The lawyer told Husband that if Wife called their bluff by not yielding on alimony and child support and insisting on custody, they would withdraw the custody demand. Husband agreed to the strategy, and it turned out as planned--Wife settled for lower alimony and child support in exchange for exclusive custody.

Haskell notes that custody blackmail is "often done, and it may be professionally permissible. It is a misrepresentation of Husband's state of mind, but it has become a negotiating convention that may legitimize the tactic under professional rules." [Id.] Later in the book, Haskell argues that the strategy of the lawyer and his client is a "form of fraud." He point out that a lawyer is forbidden by ethical rules of the profession to counsel the client to engage in fraud or assist the client in fraudulent conduct. Haskell suggests that the matter is somewhat confused by the fact that this misrepresentation takes place in the context of negotiations and the ethical rules explicitly allow lawyers greater leeway in representations made during the course of negotiations. The bottom-line for Haskell is that "[t]here is no consideration that justifies this immoral behavior." [Id. at 71, 72]

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