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Section News
Fall Meeting
Two years ago, along with my
site selection mentor Dick Podell and Section staff, I traveled
to Memphis to consider it as a site for a Section meeting.
We fell in love with its southern charms and the opportunities
it offered. Thanks to the efforts of the host committee, co-chaired
by Amy Amundsen and the Hon. Bernice Donald, and Section staff,
the meeting exceeded our greatest expectations.
The "Three Kings" meeting—so named for its associations
with civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., blues
legend B.B. King, and of course, rock and roll's own king,
Elvis—was special for many reasons, including our Awards
Luncheon. The luncheon was held at the National Civil Rights
Museum, built at the Lorraine Motel, site of the assassination
of Martin Luther King. At the luncheon, we presented the "Friend
of the Family Award" to our host committee co-chair, Judge
Donald, the first female African-American judge in Tennessee
and current Secretary-Elect of the American Bar Association.
After lunch, attendees were invited to tour the museum, which
not only covers the entire Civil Rights Movement, but also
serves as a legacy to Dr. King's life. Thank you to Crone
& Mason, LLP, for sponsoring the luncheon.
Our main social event was a barbeque and dancing at B.B. King's,
followed by an evening on Beale Street. The music and the
people were great fun. (The photos of the event are being
held by Peter Walzer for blackmail purposes, though you can
expect some of them to find their way onto the Section's website
soon.) Thanks are due to Mark Chinn & Associates for their
sponsorship of this event.
And, of course, no meeting at Memphis would be complete without
a visit from the "King" himself. Thanks to Judge Butch Childers,
Elvis was very much in the building during our opening reception.
Thank you to TX Direct for sponsoring our "one night with
Elvis." (We also had a trip to Graceland for those who could
not get enough of the King.)
Beyond socializing and networking, high-quality CLE offerings
are a hallmark of our conferences. This time, Maryann Foley
did the work normally done by two CLE co-chairs in putting
together an outstanding program. I would also like to thank
all of our CLE presenters, as well.
In addition, Section staff arranged for numerous committee
and board meetings which are so necessary for the Section
to function. Thank you to Paula and her staff: Alissa, Carrie,
and Hilary.
I'd also like to thank ScanCafé and our other sponsors
and exhibitors for making our conference a success.
With the exception of the loss of the Badgers on Saturday
afternoon, a more perfect weekend cannot have been imagined.
Thank you again to all who made it possible.
If you were unable to join us in Memphis, we will soon have
the CLE programs available for purchase (cd-rom, compendium,
or audio). Just visit the Calendar
section of our website for more information. (Click on "Past
Conferences")
I look forward to seeing you at our spring meeting in Chicago.
Gregg Herman, Chair
Hit the Books & Read All about It!
In between CLE and social events, the Section rolled out its new book donation program at the fall
meeting. The program allows members to donate children's books to local schools in the cities
where we meet, and also offers the opportunity to "go back to school" and read to children.
The Section collected close to 100 books which were donated
to Downtown Elementary School, and some of our readers (Financial
Officer Deborah Akers-Parry, ahem) had such a good time that
they missed the photo that was taken for the Memphis Rotary
Newsletter!
We would like to express our thanks to Jim and Bonnie Preston,
Amy Amundsen, and all of those who volunteered to read, including
Aubrey Brown, Judge Patricia O'Dell, Judi Wolf, and Laura
DeWoskin. (If you volunteered to read but your name is not here, please let us know.)
The Section plans to continue the book donation program, so keep those kiddie book titles
in mind for next time!
Nominations for Leadership Still Being Accepted
Still ruminating over whether or not to become a leader in the Section? Ponder no more, time's
running out! The deadline for submissions is November 1, 2007.
We are currently seeking nominations for the following
leadership positions for the 2008-2009 Section year: Chair-Elect; Vice Chair; Secretary; Delegate to the
ABA House of Delegates; Council Members-at-Large; Region III Representative (composed of Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana,
Michigan, Wisconsin, and Illinois); and Region V Representative (composed of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah,
Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas).
Visit the Nominations page
for more details and how to submit letters of interest.
Publications
Creating Effective Parenting Plans
John N. Hartson, Ph.D.
Brenda J. Payne, Ph.D.
Product Code 5130141
Gear up for our November 30th
teleconference on Parenting Coordinators with this book!
An essential tool for anyone dealing with resolution of custody matters,
Creating Effective Parenting Plans will assist you and your clients in
developing a parenting plan that effectively meets the needs of children at the
time of divorce from birth through age 18.
More
information (including a table of contents)
To order today, call
the ABA Service Center at 800-285-2221 and request Product
Code 5130141 or order online.
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Best of the List Serve
This month's Best of the FamLawEsq
looks at agreed choice of law for pre-marital agreements and
retroactive child support.
Read more about this month's
selected topics. (You will need to log in to the ABA website.)
Not on the list? All of our lawyer members are encouraged
to join this popular discussion list. Read more about How
to Join FamLawEsq in the Members Only section of our website.
CLE Calendar
TeleConferences
This month, we have two teleconferences
that are sure to enhance your skills!
November 1, 2007
How Using a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst Can Strengthen
Your Core Divorce Practice
(Co-sponsoring with GP Solo & Small Firm Division)
Join an expert panel of CDFA professionals, a respected divorce
attorney, and a family court judge as they demonstrate how adding
a CDFA professional to your litigation team can help you: present
complicated financial documents clearly and compellingly for
your client and the court; increase your clients’ satisfaction
with their settlements, thus retaining clients and increasing
referrals for long-term growth; and prevail in court.
More details/register online
November 30, 2007
Parenting Coordinators: Who Are They and Can They Help?
This teleconference will give you insight into the role of parenting
coordinators, how they can assist you in developing parenting plans, and much more.
Please note that this teleseminar will take place from 12:00
p.m. - 1:30 p.m. Eastern time (i.e., 11:00 a.m. Central, 10:00
a.m. Mountain, 9:00 a.m. Pacific)
Details and registration information will soon be available
online; bookmark our CLE
Calendar and check back soon to reserve your spot.
Unable to attend a teleconference or a Section CLE conference? Not to worry, you can learn
on your own time when you purchase the CLE materials.
See
a listing of available CLE materials
Submit a CLE Proposal
Want to submit a CLE proposal for our 2008 programming?
Proposals for our Fall CLE Conference are accepted on a rolling basis; proposals for
Annual Meeting must be in by November 1, 2007. (Spring 2008 programming is already in place.)
We look forward to hearing your ideas!
Download the CLE Proposal form
Save the Date!
Spring 2008 CLE Conference of the
ABA Section of Family Law and American Psychological Association
April 30-May 3, 2008
Marriott Chicago Downtown
Chicago, IL
This special interdisciplinary conference, "Reconceptualizing Child Custody:
Past, Present and Future--Lawyers and Psychologists Working Together"
will provide CLE programming that is specially designed to appeal
to both professions. Multiple plenaries and breakout sessions will span
three full days and allow pyschologists and lawyers the opportunity to learn
from judges, lawyers, psychologists, researchers, and academicians.
More information will be forthcoming; make sure you can join us for this enlightening conference!
Tech Corner
Legal Technology Resources for New Practitioners
Starting a new practice is a major endeavor. You have business to develop,
clients to find, an office to manage, and a great deal of legal technology to consider using.
Following are resources culled by the ABA Legal Technology Resource Center (LTRC) to help ease the transition.
ABA Services
The LTRC Hotline:
Contact the ABA Legal Technology Resource Center on the web, by e-mail, or call (312) 988-5465
for help with questions about technology.
ABA-CLE Newsflash: Sign up
to receive monthly updates at your desktop about upcoming ABA-CLE programs and products
in the practice area(s) of your choice.
ABA Ethics Research Service: Provides help
when you have a sticky ethics issue.
ABA Member Advantage: Get great discounts
(including retirement funds and insurance) just for being an ABA member!
Online Research Tools
Lawlink: The ABA's Legal Research Jumpstation.
Includes a slew of websites you may find useful.
LTRC Legal Technology Web Search: This
search engine focuses your query on
some of our favorite legal technology websites, so you can get the information you need without
going through dozens
of pages of useless results.
ABA Journal's Blawg Directory: A collection of web logs (blogs) related to the
practice of law that can be sorted alphabetically, by author type, region or law school.
Using Technology to Market Your Practice
How will you market your practice? By e-mail, a blog, or a website? Get tips on each below!
E-mail Marketing
Marketing your practice with blogs
Building a Web Site That Works
Purchasing Legal Technology Software for Your Law Office
Checklist for Purchasing Software for the Law Office
Practice and Case Management Software: Comparison Chart
Time & Billing Software: Comparison Chart
American Bar Association Sections for New Practitioners
GP|Solo, dedicated exclusively to the needs of
general practitioners, solo and small law firm lawyers.
The ABA's Law Practice Management Section provides practical
education and assistance to
lawyers and firms in the core areas of the business of practicing law:
Marketing, Management, Technology and Finance.
The Young Lawyers Division is open to all
ABA members under 36 years old or who have been admitted to practice for five years or less.
Don't forget, the ABA Legal Technology Resource Center has scads of other resources that family
law practitioners (whether firmly established or just starting out) will find helpful, so visit today.
—Tonya Johnson, ABA
Legal Technology Resource Center
Tell Us! Have a favorite legal resource?
Feel free to share it with us; we may use
your quote in a future edition of the eNewsletter! If there's
some other technology you would like us to investigate, just
e-mail glazerh@staff.abanet.org.
Keep the Tech Corner working for you!
Family Law Web
If you haven't visited
our website lately, you don't know what you're missing.
Here's a sampling of what you'll find when you and your mouse
decide to take the plunge!
1. The Who
Okay, not the band, sorry. But if you're a Family Law Section
groupie, you'll want to know who your officers and council members
are. You might even want to find out who your committee chair
is. All of this and more can be found either by clicking on
"Membership" or "Committees" in the navigation bar on the left.
(Then just click on the appropriate links on the pages you land
on.) Take note: we'll soon be adding brief bios and contact
information for our Council members. Get to know your Section
leaders and become more involved with your committees, too!
2. The What
So you're a member, but you still don't know much about the
Section? Not to worry. We've got our bylaws, Administrative
Guide (the tool of choice for a quick Section intro),
and Council Agenda Books. If you missed a Section meeting, check
out the Council
Agenda Book for a peek at the issues of the day. (Please
note that some of these items are in our members-only area,
so you'll need to be logged in to the ABA website.) All of these
things can again be found by clicking on our Membership link.
(We've also handily linked to some of them directly above.)
3. The Why
Knowledge is power, or so they say. Thus, the Section website
also provides you with the Online
Resource Center, which you can read about in last
month's eNewsletter (member benefit column). To submit resources,
just e-mail glazerh@staff.abanet.org and be sure to note under
which topic(s) your resource belongs.
We'd like for you to think of the Family Law website as your
mainstay for family law knowledge sharing.
So please visit today, take a look around, and let us know what
you think. We'll cover other sections of the website in future
issues of the eNewsletter, and we always appreciate suggestions
and feedback. Happy bookmarking! www.abanet.org/family.
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