JOHN WENDELL BEAVERS, ESQ.

• admitted to all State and Federal courts of Pennsylvania (1976) and New Jersey (1979)
• Penn State, '73 Dickinson School of Law '76
• USMC '66-'69 H/2/3 '67-'68
• Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association, Philadelphia Bar Association, and other associations

I was a Marine Corps brat born at the Philadelphia Naval Hospital. My family moved to a new state with each of my father's promotions or job changes. I made many new friends in new states. For example, when I was in the third grade we moved to Rome, Georgia. I was just starting the school year and had not studied The Civil War in any of the northern schools that I had attended. I didn't know, in 1955, that there had been a Civil War and my new classmates did not know that the Civil War had ended. I was the Yankee when I arrived and had at least one fight a day for most of the two years that I lived there. I have been a little argumentative since then.

I joined the Marine Corps after graduation from high school in 1966 and went to Vietnam in 1967. I spent 13 months in Vietnam as an 0311 Marine rifleman in a rifle battalion and was a platoon sergeant at the time I finished my tour and rotated back to the States.

I had gotten married a few days before leaving for Vietnam in 1967 and was separated from my wife shortly after my return. I started college, and the beginning of an eight (8) year contested divorce. At some point, it became financially clear that it was cheaper to become a lawyer rather than to pay them. In 1969 no-fault divorce laws did not exist in Pennsylvania. I became interested in domestic or family law academically, philosophically, morally, and, ultimately, vocationally. As a lawyer and as a divorce client I have been on both sides of the lawyer's desk.

I have been representing clients in divorces since 1976. A contested divorce is like a war . No rational person wants to be in a war. Unfortunately, many people involved in divorce situations (never my clients) become irrational. I have been fighting for a long time. My interests are my clients' interests. Many, if not most, divorce cases are comprised of issues that can be settled by reasonable parties. However, there are cases that can only be resolved through litigation.

I recommend that all parties recognize that they have serious legal and financial questions, whether in a contested divorce or custody battle or in amicable settlement negotiations, and treat them seriously. Consult with an attorney, whether it is my firm or another law firm.

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