Dear
Section,
The
Florida Bar Annual Convention is weeks away and as always, the Family
Law Section's annual meeting will be held in conjunction with the
Convention. The Section's committee meetings will be held on Wednesday,
June 22nd, 2011 and the Executive Council
meeting on Thursday, June 23rd, 2011 at the
Convention's brand new location - - - - The Gaylord Palms Resort
& Convention Center located at: 6000 West Osceola Parkway,
Kissimmee, Florida. If you have not already made your hotel
reservation, you may do so by calling 1-(407)-586-2000.
To learn more about the June 22nd, 2011 meeting
schedule click on http://www.familylawfla.org/events/.
If you
are coming to the Annual Convention and the Section's meetings, be
sure to attend the Family Law Section's Annual Awards and
Installation Luncheon on June 22nd, 2011. During the
luncheon, we will be celebrating the completion of the 2010 - 2011
bar cycle, discussing the Section's accomplishment during that time
frame, acknowledging and honoring the Section members who made
extraordinary contributions to the Section's varied work, and
installing new leadership for the 2011 - 2012 bar cycle. David
L. Manz will take office as the Section's new Chair. In
keeping with David's theme for the forthcoming bar cycle, we will be
hearing from Dr. Mimi Hull who will be speaking on the topic
of "Improving Your Family Law Practice." To attend
the Luncheon you must purchase your ticket, in advance, through The
Florida Bar (not the Section) at a cost of $42.00 (tax included).
In order to purchase a ticket click
here.
On
Wednesday evening, June 22nd, 2011 we will be having a Section
cocktail reception which is open (and free) to all Section and
Affiliate members. Please attend the reception where we
will be honoring the Section's "Making A
Difference" honorees and announcing the recipient of the
"Making A Difference" award winner for this past year.
The cocktail reception will be held in the Emerald Plaza from 6:00 P.M. to 8:00P.M.
I am
still smiling after returning from the Section's
 "Escape
to Wine Country" out-of-state retreat at the Villagio Inn & Spa in
Napa Valley, California. The organized tours and activities
and the educational seminar "Addiction:
 Its
Effect Upon Your Clients and Their Cases" were very
well attended, enjoyed by all and far surpassed my personal hopes for
the success of this retreat. I owe a tremendous debt of
gratitude to Dr. Deborah Day who secured sponsors and
assembled a talented and informative group of presenters (Dr.
Marie Bell, Richard D. West, Dr. Kyle Goodwin, Dr. Trent Saxton, Dr.
Jan Faust, Richard West, Gordon C. Brydger, and Dale
Saunders), who, along with herself, covered every aspect of
addiction and its relationship to family law cases. I am ever
grateful to
 Retreat
Chair, Douglas A. Greenbaum. He was a fabulous host,
making every attendee feel welcome and comfortable throughout the
retreat and surprising me by having a special run of Commentators
printed for inclusion in the attendees'
 gift
bags. Kathryn M. Beamer provided tremendous assistance
helping me select the venues for and organizing the group tours.
Gordon C. Brydger negotiated a better grade of wines for
us to taste at Chateau Montelena. Our Section Program
Administrator, Summer Hall ensured that the breakfasts,
cocktail parties, dinner and organized tours went off without a
hitch. To Dr. Day, Doug, Kathy, Gordon and Summer kudos and my sincere thanks.
 In
addition, the quality of this retreat was enhanced not only by the
financial assistance of, but also the attendance and participation of
these sponsors: Magee Stafford and Associates, Merrill
Lynch, West & Green, P.A. and The Carlyle Appellate Law
Firm; as well as Merrill Lynch Wealth Management,
 Bank of
America Corporation, La Amistad Behavioral Health Services, and the National Cooperative Parenting Center, and last but by no means
least, the Section's Platinum Sponsor, Voit Econmetrics Group,
Inc.
I hope
you enjoy this May, 2011 edition of FAMSEG. We are
honored to have the Section's Past Chair Allyson Hughes contribute an article about the forthcoming 2011 Matrimonial Trial
Advocacy Course offered this year in a new location, the Marriott
Harbour Beach Resort & Spa, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida August
11th - 14th, 2011. You can make hotel
reservations by calling 1-(888)-236-2421. The room block
rate expires on July 18th, 2011. Allyson has served as a Chair of this event for more than a decade.
Coincidently, Allyson and I first met each other when we
were assigned to a trial team in a workshop led by the late, great Hon.
Betty Kessler, General Magistrate (Dade County) more years ago
than (I incorrectly thought) either of us would admit to. In
her article Allyson reminded me that we first met 18 years
ago. That "bonding" experience was the seed of our
friendship which I am happy to say has grown over the years. I
have since served as a workshop leader at this event and lectured on
closing arguments. Each time I participate I learn
something new - not just from the presenters but from the
participants. This course is one of the best that the Section
offers. You can earn a number of C.L.E. credits, use your
course trial as a "qualifying trial" for marital and family
law board certification, challenge/sharpen your trial skills, but as
importantly, you will make lifelong professional relationships and
friendships through your participation. The number of openings
is limited so if you are interested in registering, read Allyson's article and the link at the end of it to learn more.
This year, I am proud to announce that the Section is
inaugurating a scholarship program for this event and is
offering 2 scholarships to underwrite the cost of attendance for 2
Section members to participate in this course. If you are
interested in applying for a scholarship, go to http://www.familylawfla and follow the instructions contained therein.
Have
you ever wondered why children's therapists may be unwilling to testify
in a court proceeding? If so, be sure to read Dr. Christina
M. Hansen's article "Why Would A Child Therapist Not
Testify?" A "must read" are the articles
featuring the March, 2011 and April, 2011"Making A
Difference" honorees, the Hon. Susan Maulucci, General
Magistrate and Art Ginsberg, respectively.
Learn about General Magistrate Malucci's involvement in
a wonderful program called Next Step which provides mentoring
and assistance to teens aging out of the foster care system.
Discover that Art Ginsberg has not rested on his
laurels. A former Chair of the Family Law Section and President
of the Florida Chapter, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, Mr. Ginsberg is now associated with Legal Aid of Manasota, Inc.
He has provided over 700 pro bono hours in legal
services (above and beyond that furnished within the parameters of
his job) over the past 3 years, as well as many other hours of
volunteer time through his service with the United Way. Our May
2011, Making A Difference Award Winner, Nalalie Baird has been
an outspoken advocate for domestic violence victims, an
educator on domestic violence as well as being one of the founding
members of the organization, Are You Safe.
Timothy C. Voit offers up a valuable article titled "Practical
Insight To Help The Family Law Attorney Understand Retirement Plans
(and Avoid Liability)" when dealing with 401(k)s and similar
retirement plans in this edition of FAMSEG.
Finally, once again Eddie Stephens updates us
on the most significant recent cases impacting marital and family law
in his monthly column Stephens' Squibs.
Until
the next edition of FAMSEG, stay healthy and happy,
DIANE
M. KIRIGIN
Chair,
Family Law Section |
Why Would A Child Therapist Not Testify?
By Christina M. Hansen, Psy.D.
Licensed Psychologist |
 Why would a therapist be
willing to treat a child in divorce related issues but be unwilling
to testify in court? To attorneys, it appears contradictory.
However, to therapists it makes perfect sense. There are
times that we are willing to testify and times when we are not. How
do we decide? No, it is not if we like the attorney or not. The
decision is very individualistic- based on the many factors involved
in a case. When I make my decision as to whether to testify or
not, it is not a question I take lightly. Our first ethical
principal as psychologists is to do no harm. I ask myself, will my
testimony hurt the child emotionally? If I have even the
slightest inkling that my testimony will hurt the child, forget about
it! There are many factors that could cause hurt to the child in my
testifying. Some examples include that the child has shared
private information that he or she is scared to discuss with the
parents and therefore I do not want to present that information in
the court room or the child does not want to choose a parent and my
testifying will make it seem as though he or she is choosing.
I also look at the family
dynamics and how my testimony will affect this. Is my testimony
going to cause the child to be interrogated by the parents after the
hearing is over? Is it going to cause more damage to the parent/child
relationship? Will this be something that the parent brings up
with the child over the next 20 years, making the child feel guilty
for what I said? If any of these questions are even a slight yes,
I will refute a subpoena until the end.
The last area I look at
is, is my testimony going to help the child? As the therapist,
am I able to be the voice the child needs for the judge to hear?
In my testimony, will I be able to appropriately share what the
child wants the court to know? If I do not have any concerns
about the child being hurt or family relations being damaged and I
believe I can help the child and the court, then I am happy to
testify and willingly walk into a courtroom.
However, it is important
to make it clear that as therapists we look at each case
individually. We look at the child or children, and the role of
the immediate and extended family. It is important to us to
make sure the child will not be hurt in our testimony, but rather it
will allow for more healing and growth.
BIO:
Dr. Christina Hansen is a Licensed Psychologist at Hansen-Cohen
Associates in Psychology in Fort Myers, FL. Her clinical practice
includes psychotherapy, psychoeducational assessments, neuropsychological
evaluations, court-ordered evaluations as well as divorce and
post-divorce healing for adults, children and families. Dr. Hansen
currently serves on the Board of Association of Family Law
Professionals, including the Planning and Definitions committees; The
Family Resource Center of Southwest Florida; and the Fort Myers
CHADD, for which she is the Professional Chair person. She is also a
member of APA, FPA, AFCC, and FLAFCC
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Come Join Us At The 2011 Matrimonial Trial Ad
by Allyson Hughes, P.A. |
 18
years ago I attended my first Florida Bar Family Law Section Trial
Advocacy Course. I was still a bit wet behind the ears, family law
was not my only area of practice, and I had not done many day long
trials. As part of the Trial Advocacy Course I was teamed up with
another young attorney, Diane Kirigin. Over the 4 days we had such
fun! Sure we worked hard: our imaginary client was suitably dysfunctional-her
life was a mess and her finances were less than perfect. But we
fought for her to obtain custody, we disentangled her financial
woes and we were her champions. During the week, General Magistrate
Betty Kessler, our workshop leader, took us to lunch. Magistrate
Kessler, a fireball of a woman, could see our potential and
encouraged us both to pursue a path in family law. With
Kesseler's positive words ringing in our ears, Diane and I later
became board certified and (humbly) Section chairs. I think we each
credit the Trial Advocacy experience as one piece of the amazing
puzzle that shaped our careers.
I'm sure our story is not isolated. I hear from many of the
participants over the years who credit "Trial Ad" as giving
them the focus and confidence to find their way in family law.
The Trial Advocacy Course is designed to fast forward your trial
skills. During the seminar you will learn practical techniques,
presentation pointers, and hot tips to try your case. You will also
learn what works and what doesn't in a court room. The course is set
up to provide the participant with a hands on experience in a safe
environment. This allows the participant to build up their confidence
in a small group setting.
Another goal of the seminar is to promote board certification. Full
participation in the program serves as one of the trials for the
certification requirement to become board certified. The workshop
leaders and lecturers are all board certified and passionate about
the benefits of certification. They are willing to share their
thoughts and personal insight about the merits of becoming board
certified.
A tremendous feature of the Trial Advocacy Course is the networking
opportunity. Participants have the ability to meet other family law
practitioners and top parenting plan evaluators from across the
state. Because of the 8 person make-up of the individual groups, and
the intense work performed in each group, many friendships are forged
for years to come.
Lastly, I'm continually impressed by the sincere desire of the
workshop leaders and lecturers to teach, help, and learn (yes,
everyone learns from this experience), all with the goal of creating
better family law attorneys.
And oh yeah, Diane Kirigin (now Magistrate Kirigin) and I-we've been
fast friends ever since.
Come join us in Fort Lauderdale August 11-14th, 2011 for another
great year of Trial Ad! Hurry up and register as registration space
is limited.
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Practical Insights To Help The Family Law Attorney Understand
Retirement Plans (and Avoid Liability)
Part I:
401(k)s & Similar Retirement Plans
by Timothy C. Voit |
 Tim
Voit offers some practical insights to help the family law attorney
understand what is at stake when dealing with retirement plans in
divorce. Based on his expertise in liability actions, fixing
QDROs or computing damages, here are a few pointers to consider
before finalizing a settlement agreement or divorce.
Awarding a portion of the Florida Retirement System (FRS) pension
plan when the FRS spouse did, or is going to, switch to the FRS
Investment Plan.
Pursuant to recent legislation, and changes to the FRS pension plan,
quite a few state employees are transferring what they accrued in the
FRS pension to the FRS Investment Plan. Even if a QDRO was
previously entered on the FRS pension plan, a new QDRO must be
prepared on the FRS Investment Plan if the spouse with the FRS
benefits intends to transfer into the FRS Investment plan. If
you represent one of the parties, and this possibility exists, a
calculation of the non-FRS spouse's share must be computed by
contacting the FRS Calculations Department, Attn: Doug Cherry, P.O.
Box 9000, Tallahassee, FL 32315-9000. The advantages or
disadvantages of transferring from FRS to the FRS Investment Plan can
be discussed with Tim Voit by contacting him directly either by email
(vecon@snworks.com) or
telephone (239) 596-7711.
Awarding 50% of marital portion & placing burden on alternate
payee to figure out marital portion.
I often see the following language in settlement agreements "The
Wife (or Husband) is awarded 50% of a marital portion of
Husband's (or Wife's) 401(k)." This is not always possible with
401(k)s and similar plans. In fact most of the time its not!
The QDRO is rejected in most cases because the plan will not
calculate a marital portion, nor calculate contributions and earnings
between two points in time. If the goal is to exclude the premarital
portion, do not put the burden on the alternate payee spouse to have
the marital portion calculated, place the burden on the plan
participant spouse to have the premarital portion excluded1.
Disregard for loans, which adversely affects a former spouse's
share.
The attorney, for either party, should pay careful attention to the
existence of any loans in a 401(k) and whether the loans were
intended for marital use, or considered non-marital. Some QDRO
preparers think that excluding loan balance language in a QDRO means
the alternate payee's share is unaffected by loan balances. Quite
the opposite ! To avoid the alternate payee's share from
being subject to any loan balance reductions, verbiage could be used
such as "Any outstanding loan balance(s) shall be included in
the calculation of the alternate payee's share". This
preceding language if used in a QDRO means that the alternate payee's
share is unaffected by any loan balance because it is being included
along with the rest of the account balance to compute the alternate
payee's share
Relying on a 401(k) distribution to pay off debt when plan does
not make an immediate lump-sum distribution.
This is dangerous to say the least, but in today's economy a
practical approach to take if one of the parties is sitting on a
large (illiquid) 401(k) balance. Consult with the plan first,
however, to determine when a distribution can be made, e.g. monthly,
quarterly, annually, etc.
Using a model QDRO that is not consistent with Florida Law.
Attorneys often think QDROs are easy and all that is
needed is a model QDRO. If the company, for which you are
dividing the plan, is located outside of Florida, it is likely that
the model QDRO is more consistent with the domestic relations law of
the state the company is located in. QDROs for companies in
California are not the same as QDROs in Florida, especially when it
comes to defining a marital portion.
1 see Trant v. Trant, 545 So. 2d 428 (Fla. 2d DCA) for more on defining
marital and premarital components of retirement plans as well as Van
Den Berg v. Van Den Berg, No. 5D09-475 (Fla.App. 10/15/2010),
Bain v. Bain, 553 So. 2d 1389 (Fla. 5th DCA 1990), Archer v. Archer,
712 So. 2d 1198 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998), and Reyher v. Rehyer, 495 So.
2d. 797 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986)
Tim Voit is a Financial Analyst with Voit Econometrics Group, Inc.
(toll-free: 1-800-557-8648) with offices in Bonita Springs and Fort
Lauderdale. Mr. Voit is also author of Retirement Plan Benefits
& QDROs in Divorce, Federal Retirement Plans in Divorce -
Strategies & Issues, and has testified throughout Florida on
these issues.
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MAKING A DIFFERENCE AWARD WINNERS |
The
Family Law Section of the Florida Bar publicly acknowledges, through
the monthly 'MAKING A DIFFERENCE" award, those individuals who
have made a difference in the lives of the underserved or
disadvantaged within our State. The individuals who receive
this award either provide outstanding pro bono services or engage in
other types of outstanding volunteer or community activities and
pursuits that improve the lives of Florida's children and families.
March, 2011
Winner
General Magistrate Susan Maulucci
 The
recipient for the award for March, 2011, is General Magistrate Susan
Maulucci.
Susan
Maulucci has been admitted to practice law in Florida for almost 30
years. General Magistrate Maulucci received both her Bachelor of Arts
degree and her Juris Doctorate degree from the University of
Florida, College of Law.
Ms.
Maulucci began her career as a public servant as a prosecutor for the
12th Judicial Circuit in 1984. Prior to returning to
public service as a general magistrate, Ms. Maulucci represented
clients in family, juvenile and guardianship cases in private
practice in Sarasota for approximately 13 years. She also
became a certified family mediator and certified dependency mediator.
In 2004, Susan Maulucci once again returned to public service
when she became a general magistrate in the 12th Judicial
Circuit, assigned to the Family Division in Manatee County.
Magistrate
Maulucci's bar and professional activities include participation in
the Florida Bar's Legal Needs of Children Committee and the General
Magistrate Committee. She is also a member of Family Court
Professional Collaborative and the Manatee Chapter of the Florida
Association of Women Lawyers.
In
her involvement with the Family Court Professional Collaborative, an
organization for which she serves on the Board of Directors, she
helped formulate and develop Next Step, a mentoring and
assistance program for teens aging out of the foster care system.
The program offers invaluable assistance to foster teens
starting out on their own, often times without the skills and
assistance necessary to become independent and successful adults.
Next Step includes not only a mentoring component, but a
tutoring and networking component as well. In addition to
other items provided by the Kids-Aging-Out Network, a network of
businesses and professionals willing to provide tangible assistance
to youth leaving the foster program, Next Step has grown, and
it now boasts a clothing shop of mostly new clothing donated from
vendors and more than 35 volunteer tutors that include students from
New College of Florida.
The
Family Law Section of the Florida Bar is pleased to congratulate
Magistrate Maulucci, and it thanks her for her past and continued
efforts on behalf of the children and families of Florida.
April, 2011 Winner
Arthur D. Ginsburg
 The
recipient for the award for April, 2011, is Arthur D. Ginsburg.
Arthur
Ginsburg, not only serves the underserved and disadvantaged by
regularly providing over two hundred and fifty hours of pro bono
service annually to indigent clients through his local legal aid
office, Legal Aid of Manasota, Inc., he donates additional time to
the needy. He has provided over 700 additional hours of
service, above and beyond those directly through his legal aid
office, just in the past three years. In addition to personally
assisting indigent clients with dissolution of marriage, custody,
visitation, adoption and support issues, he has interviewed hundreds
of clients on a pro bono basis to assess their needs and has actively
recruited his colleagues to generously donate their time on similar
projects and cases. As a result of his efforts, Mr. Ginsburg
was honored by the Twelfth Judicial Circuit's pro bono program, Legal
Aid Manasota, Inc., which recognizes the efforts of attorneys in
Manatee and Sarasota County who have made exceptional pro bono
contributions.
Arthur Ginsburg has been admitted to practice law in Florida for over
50 years, and during that time he has earned a national reputation
handling high profile family law matters including the Twiggs v. Mays
"baby swap" case. Prior to specializing in marital
and family law, he did general trial work including personal injury
and malpractice litigation. Mr. Ginsburg has not only
selflessly given his time to the poor and less fortunate, but to the
legal community at large. Mr. Ginsburg is active in the legal
community having served as past president of the Florida Chapter of
the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, as well as having served
as past Chair of the Family Law Section of the Florida Bar. He
has also served as past president of the Sarasota County Bar
Association and Chair of the Twelfth Circuit Judicial Qualification
Commission. He was appointed by the Florida Supreme Court to
the Commission on Family Law, and has acted both as a lobbyist and
educator on family law issues.
Not only has Arthur Ginsburg served the legal community, but his
local community, serving as an officer for his local United Way as
well as the Family Counseling Center.
The Family Law Section of the Florida Bar is pleased to congratulate
Arthur D. Ginsburg, and it thanks him for his past and continued
efforts on behalf of the children and families of Florida.
May, 2011 Winner
Natalie Baird
 The
recipient for the award for May, 2011 is Natalie Baird.
The
Family Law Section of the Florida Bar is pleased to congratulate Ms.
Baird, and it thanks her for her past and continued efforts on behalf
of the children and families of Florida.
Natalie
Baird attended Nova Southeastern University, receiving her Bachelor
of Science in 2001 and her Juris Doctorate from the school in
2001. She and her husband own the Baird Law Group, a firm
through which Ms. Baird focuses her practice on family law cases
involving domestic violence.
Having
been a victim of domestic violence, Ms. Baird has become an outspoken
advocate for domestic violence victims and those families impacted by
violence as well as an educator on domestic violence to both the
legal community and the community at large. Since becoming a
member of the Florida Bar in 2003, Natalie Baird has demonstrated her
commitment to fighting domestic violence within our society.
She has served on The Spring of Tampa Bay's Board of Directors,
and she has acted as Chair of its Board of Trustees. The Spring
is an organization whose mission is "to prevent domestic
violence, protect victims and promote change in lives, families, and
communities." It is also the only certified domestic
violence shelter and emergency agency in the Tampa Bay area.
In addition to her participation in The Spring, Ms. Baird, with both
her husband and two other attorneys founded the organization, Are
You Safe, whose mission is to provide legal and social services
to domestic violence victims and to promote education and awareness
of domestic violence. In her participation with these groups,
Ms. Baird has logged over 250 hours of in court time helping domestic
violence victims, in addition to the countless hours spent
administering the organization and in lecturing or making appearances
to discuss domestic violence. Finally, Ms. Baird received an
Achievement Award from the Domestic Violence Task Force in 2010.
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Making a Difference Award Nominations and Assistance
Needed |
Just a reminder that the Making a Difference Award
Committee Chairs, Kim Rommel Enright and Robin J Scher continue to
seek nominations for Section Chair's, Magistrate Diane Kirigin's,
monthly Making a Difference Award for both attorneys/judges and
affiliate (professionals, paralegals and student) members of the
Section who have made a difference in the lives of the underserved or
disadvantaged within our State. The individuals who receive
this award either provide outstanding pro bono services or engage in
other types of outstanding volunteer community activities and
pursuits that improve the lives of Florida's children and families.
In addition to recognition with a feature article in FAMSEG on
the winners' activities, awards will be given at the Section's Annual
Luncheon during the Florida Bar's Annual Meeting in June, and among
all Award winners, an Annual winner will be chosen, the inaugural,
Annual Award winner being announced at the Section's evening cocktail
party. The press in each winner's local area is being notified in
order to let their community at large know of all the good works s/he
has done or is doing. The Nomination application can be downloaded
here:
Please note that the contact information for Robin J.
Scher has changed and she can be reached at 561/626-5640 or email. Finally, the Committee seeks the immediate assistance
of one or more persons willing to help disseminate and follow up on
its press releases in the winners' local areas. You will not
have to write the press releases (they are graciously being written
by Committee member Rhonda Goodman, Esquire, of Miami) and you will
be provided with the contacts. If you are interested in helping
the Committee, a very simple way to get involved with the Section,
please contact Robin
J. Scher.
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Stephens' Squibs - Family Law Case Updates
By Eddie Stephens |
Click
here to read a summary of Florida Marital and family law
case updates from April, 2011.
Squib of the Month:
Galpern v. DOR, 36 FLW D821 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011)
Trial court reversed for purge provision required father
to pay $700 immediately and $20,000 every sixty days thereafter when
only evidence of ability was father made $400 a week plus commissions
plus food stamps. Order is facially deficient.
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Mentoring Corner
By Robin J Scher and Kim
Rommel-Enright, Mentoring Committee Co-Chairs
Are
you a Law Student trying to figure out whether Marital and Family Law
is for you? Are you looking for guidance on what a Family Law
attorney does or if you've decided it's what you want to do, what
courses to take or how to break into the biz? Are you new to
the practice of Family Law and needing a little guidance with a
family law issue, or a practice-related issue? Then we may have the
answer. Starting with the next FAMSEG there will be a new
feature called The Mentoring Corner. Here you will find a list
of attorneys willing to serve as mentors to any Family Law Section
Member in need of one. We'll do our best to get as many
attorneys from across the State with a variety of experience to serve
as mentors and post their names and cities. Mentees can then
obtain the attoney's contact information from the Florida Bar website
and contact them directly, letting the attorney know the purpose of
the call and reminding the attorney that s/he obtained the attorney's
name from the Family Law Section's Mentor list. It will be up to the
mentor and mentee to decide how their mentoring relationship will
work best for them, which should be established in the first
conversation. Not everyone will fit with each other so there is
no limit to the number of mentors a mentee can contact until they
find one that works for them. In addition to FAMSEG, the
Mentoring Corner will also be featured on the Family Law Section's
website. Please note that the opinions of the mentors are those
of the individual and not of the Family Law Section or the Florida
Bar.
In
future editions we hope to add a career page which will provide free
job listings for members (both attorneys and affiliates) and from
time-to-time we will also include practice tips or mentoring advice.
If
you are interested in being a mentor for a fellow Section member
please contact Robin at rjs1990esq@bellsouth.net or Kim at kenright@legalaidpbc.org Your
assistance would be greatly appreciated by us but even moreso by
future mentees.... ensure the quality of marital and family law
practice in Florida and mentor! |
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Wanted: Your Submissions
Articles |
 Have
you just finished a case or appeal where you had to become
well-versed in a particular family-law issue? Well, how about
sharing your genius with the rest of us?!
We are accepting submissions for upcoming issues of The
Florida Bar Journal, The Family Law Commentator, and even FAMSEG.
The
Journal
To be considered for publication in The Florida Bar Journal, the
article should be scholarly and relate in some manner to family law.
It should be twelve to fifteen pages in length, complete with
endnotes.
Contact co-editor: Sarah Sullivan at ssullivan@fcsl.edu Or co-editor: Amy Hamlin at ahamlin@helpisontheway.cc
The Commentator
Commentator articles are theme-specific. Upcoming theme issues
include: Children's Issues, Tax Issues, Hot Tips, Alimony, and
Agreements.
Send your Commentator submissions to Laura Davis Smith to lds@greenesmithlaw.com.
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Article Headline
Areas of Interest |
The Florida Bar Career Center - Your destination for exciting Legal job opportunities and the
best resource for qualified candidates within the Legal Industry.
The Florida Bar Online Directory - The online directory provides links to court, state and federal Web
sites and many other online resources attorneys use. This directory
has the most current Florida Bar member information available with
daily updates. *(In this section you will find: Members; Committees,
Officers, & Sections; Court Admin. & Clerks; Courts; Courts -
Federal; Judicial Associations; Legal Groups, Law Schools & Legal
Aid; Rules; and State & Federal Government.)
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Complimentary
Free CLE |
Redacting Confidential Information:
The complimentary "New Rule 2.420 Seminar"
regarding the responsibility of lawyers to redact confidential
information in court filings is available from the 24/7 CLE Catalog. The 2 credit hour
program is available under, "Discounted or Reduced Priced CLE Programs" and "New Rule 2.420 Seminar"
categories. The free program is presented by The Florida Bar Law
Office Management Assistance Service (LOMAS) and sponsored by Florida
Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company (FLMIC) and the General Practice,
Solo and Small Firm Section. |
Yueh-Mei Kim Nutter |
Partner kim.nutter@brinkleymorgan.com
Board Certified in Marital
& Family Law
Florida Certified Family
Mediator
Sun-Sentinel Building
19th Floor
200 East Las Olas
Boulevard
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
(954) 522-2200 Telephone
(954) 522-5297 Direct Line
(954) 522-9123 Facsimile
909 S.E. 5th Avenue
Suite 200
Delray Beach, FL 33483
(561) 665-4738 Telephone
www.brinkleymorgan.com
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