Community Outreach
The Family Law Section continues to provide volunteer support to a variety of programs in D.C. Section members are staffing a program in the D.C. Superior Court, the Attorney Negotiator Program, in which experienced practitioners mediate domestic relations cases when parties appear at court for the first time. Members continue to help staff the Family Court Self-Help Center, which it helped to create. Our section also continues to provide volunteers every month to staff the Pro Bono Program’s Advice and Referral Clinic. These Family Law Section members provide legal assistance to individuals and mentor other volunteers at the Clinics. Section members also assist with the Pro Bono Program’s Law Firm Pro Bono Clinic by serving as mentors to attorneys who take cases through the Clinic.
In the past year, the steering committee amended the criteria to determine who is eligible to be an Alternative Dispute Resolution (“ADR”) facilitator, solicited applications from Section members, and updated the list of ADR facilitators used by the judges. The Section will be responsible for maintaining this list.
As in previous years, the Family Law Section has cosponsored a number of D.C. Bar Pro Bono Trainings to prepare attorneys from all areas of practice to volunteer at the Family Court Self Help Center, to assist pro se litigants at the Pro Se Divorce Plus Clinic, and to represent adults and children in child custody, divorce, and domestic violence cases. Section members serve as faculty, help to write training materials, and provide assistance to attorneys who take pro bono family cases.
We are currently in the beginning stages of developing a training/mentoring program for legal services attorneys who are interested in handling divorce cases in the District of Columbia. This program, which is being developed in collaboration with Legal Aid, Bread for The City, the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Program, and WEAVE, will provide legal services with training and guidance in handling more complex divorce cases in the District of Columbia.
The Family Law Section cosponsored the Youth Law Fair in 2009.
Like most sections, we also updated the D.C. Bar Practice Manual.
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Programs
Over the past year, the Family Law Section has provided section members with a large variety of multi-disciplinary educational programs. Evening programs have addressed topics including feedback from judges about their “likes” and “dislikes” regarding family law practice in their courtrooms, training on tricky custody cases, and creative solutions to family law issues in challenging economic times. In addition, the section cosponsored a program with the American Psychiatric Society on Parent Coordination. The Family Law Section has many exciting evening programs planned for the upcoming months: On November 2, 2009, the section will present a program entitled “Starting Strong: Critical Pre-Trial Preparation Strategies in Family Court.” Other programs that are being planned by the Family Law Section include the following: A View from the Bench, Immigration and Family Law, and The New Family.
The Family Law Section has also hosted and will continue to host bi-monthly courthouse meetings, which have allowed Section members and judges to discuss issues such as the attorney negotiator program, the domestic violence court, and new legislation and case law in family law. Upcoming programs include discussions on homestudies and forensic evaluations, child abduction issues, military issues in family law cases, and a Domestic Violence Bench–Bar Dialogue.
In October 2009, the Family Law Section held its annual Judicial Reception, at which Associate Judge Jerry S. Byrd was honored for his service to the Family Court. In December 2009, the Family Law Section will hold its annual Holiday Party. Later in the spring, we will host our annual Bench-Bar Dialogue for the Family Court and Domestic Violence Unit which will continue to provide judges an opportunity to discuss programs that they are overseeing, and give practitioners an opportunity to ask questions of judges.
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Court Reform
The Family Law Section has continued its role of working to make the Family Court and Domestic Violence Unit as just, successful, and accessible as possible. By placing our steering committee members on countless court committees, meeting regularly with the presiding judges, and organizing opportunities for our section members to interact with the bench, we are able to maintain an on–going dialogue with the court and help to shape its reform.
Members of the steering committee are involved in the Family Law Task Force, which will start by examining ways to improve the functioning of the Paternity and Support branch of D.C. Superior Court.
Steering committee members are also actively involved in the Attorney Negotiator Program, which has had a very positive effect in the lives of D.C. litigants and on the family court docket.
We have commented on several court initiatives and consulted on others.
Legislative Efforts
Over the past year, Family Law Section steering committee has worked to develop its legislative agenda. In the spring of 2010, Family Law Section member Kristin Henrikson will conduct a courthouse luncheon meeting on case law updates and recent legislation. This event will be open to all members of the D.C. Bar.
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