book about a lawyer woman who adopts a child

by Dr. Aaliyah Stehr Published 2 years ago Updated 1 year ago 8 min read

What stories have been inspired by adoption?

A profound human experience – and also a brilliant plot device – adoption has inspired endless stories, from Shakespeare to Jeanette Winterson Secret history … Samantha Price (Perdita) and Iain Paterson (Leontes) in English National Opera’s adaptation of The Winter’s Tale. Photograph: Tristram Kenton/The Guardian Secret history …

Who are some famous people who used adoption agencies?

Mid-century Hollywood power couple June Allyson and Dick Powell used the agency to adopt their daughter, Pamela. Lana Turner, Pearl S. Buck and New York Gov. Herbert Lehman were also clients. And future pro wrestler Ric Flair was among Tann’s abductees. As word of Tann’s tactics started to spread, even some adoptive parents started to object.

What are some non-fiction books about adoption/foster care?

Non-Fiction Books about Adoption/Foster Care 1 Another Place at the Table by Kathy Harr ... 2 Three Little Words by Ashley Rhodes-Cour ... 3 The Connected Child: Bring Hope and Heal ... 4 The Girls Who Went Away: The Hidden Hist ... 5 The Brightness of Stars: Stories of Adul ... 14 more rows ...

Who is the mother of the boy who adopted Dan?

The mother, Samantha, was a psychologist, and the family had adopted another boy with similar issues a couple of years before. I spoke to Samantha and her husband a few times on the phone and instantly felt comfortable with them. We decided that she should come down to meet Dan by herself, to ease the transition. The decision was final.

Overview

Joel Steinberg (born May 25, 1941) is a disbarred New York City criminal defense attorney who attracted international media attention when he was accused of rape and murder and was convicted of manslaughter, in the November 1, 1987, beating and subsequent death of a six-year-old girl, Elizabeth ("Lisa"), whom he and his live-in partner Hedda Nussbaum had illegally adopted.

Early life

Joel Steinberg was raised in the Bronx and Yonkers, New York. After graduating from Fordham University in 1962, he attended law school but dropped out in 1964 and joined the U.S. Air Force in the following year. Following his military career, he returned to law school and was admitted to the bar in New York. Due to the Vietnam War ongoing at the time, lawyers whose studies were interrupted by conscription were exempted from the bar exam requirement.

Background

Steinberg shared a Greenwich Village, Manhattan apartment at 14 West 10th St. with Lisa, Mitchell (a younger child also illegally adopted), and his live-in partner Hedda Nussbaum. Steinberg had reportedly been hired by a single mother named Michele Launders to locate a suitable adoptive family for Lisa, but he instead took the child home and raised her with Nussbaum. He never filed formal adoption papers and the child was not legally adopted.

Death of Lisa Steinberg

Steinberg was under the influence of crack cocaine when he hit Lisa on the head on November 1, 1987. After the attack, he left the apartment to party with friends; Nussbaum eventually dialed 9-1-1. After police arrived at the scene, Lisa was transported from the apartment to Saint Vincent's Hospital. The child remained in the hospital for three days and died after being removed from life support. In addition to Lisa's deadly assault, Mitchell and Nussbaum both showed signs of physi…

Legal proceedings

In exchange for testifying against Steinberg, Nussbaum was not prosecuted for events related to Lisa's death. Nussbaum was alone in the apartment with an unconscious and bleeding Lisa for over ten hours without seeking any medical attention for the girl. At Steinberg's twelve-week trial, his defense argued that Nussbaum's extensive injuries resulted from a consensual sadomasochistic rel…

Lawsuit

On January 16, 2007, the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division (New York's intermediate appellate court) upheld a $15 million award against Steinberg to Michele Launders, Lisa's birth mother. In its opinion, the court rejected the position that Steinberg, acting as his own attorney, put forth:
[F]or Steinberg to dismiss the 8 to 10 hours preceding Lisa's death as "at most eight hours of pai…