McCourts seem closer to settlement after lawyer testifies

Larry Silverstein, the Massachusetts lawyer who changed a crucial word in the key document at issue in the Frank and Jamie McCourt divorce trial, acknowledged Tuesday that he didn't tell Jamie about the change. He downplayed this admission under questioning by her attorney, however, suggesting it was no big deal since he was just correcting a writing error he had made in order to reflect the couple's stated intentions. His edit — only on three of six copies of the document — changed the meaning so that Frank would own the Dodgers separately from Jamie, while she would hold other property. The other three copies already reflected that intention. Frank's lawyers get to bolster Silverstein's account on cross-examination tomorrow. Meanwhile, after Silverstein concludes his testimony the lawyers will meet about a settlement, media stories are saying. "In any settlement, Frank would be expected to retain control of the Dodgers and Jamie would be expected to bow out," says the L.A. Times' Bill Shaikin in a blog post tonight, a sense that Yahoo's Tim Brown agrees with. The lawyers go into mediation on a settlement at 9:30 Friday morning in front of Judge Peter Lichtman, says DodgerDivorce.com. LAT