UPDATES IN MICHIGAN FAMILY LAW

Mediation | Costs, controlling costs

Family lawyers on the State Bar of Michigan Family Law Listserv (a discussion group) have been discussing mediation this past week. Some lawyers think it's unfair to be billed by a mediator when a mediation is cancelled or rescheduled. Others think it's not fair to be billed for "administrative tasks." I admit that I objected when a GAL agreed upon by the parties billed $150/hour for sending a form letter to the parties. I'd feel the same way if I were billed $150/hour for the sending of a mediator's notice of mediation.

James J. Harrington III of Novi, www.jjharringtonlaw.com, an outstanding Michigan family lawyer, had some valuable thoughts that he agreed to let me share with you. I concur with his analysis.

Tug of War Over Children

Justice Talking is an excellent program on National Public Radio. If you've missed the program, however, you can listen to it at their website www.justicetalking.org

On my way somewhere else today, I happened to find a program titled The Tug of War Over Children. It aired in January 2006, but you may listed to it on your computer at this link.

The focus of the program is stated in this Overview:

With over 40% of marriages ending in divorce, the battle for child custody and support are among the most common and contentious disputes heard by our nation's courts. What do judges look at when making custody and child support decisions? Do moms get an unfair advantage?

What happens when one parent snatches the kids and hides them from the other parent? Should teenagers get a say in where they live? Join us on this edition of Justice Talking as we take a deeper look at family law and ask what happens to the kids when parents break up?

The presenters are: Professor David Mayer and Joan Meier. Prof. Mayer is a professor at the University of Illinois College of Law and a leading scholar at the intersection of constitutional law and family law. He is a member of the American Law Institute. Joan Meier is Professor of Clinical Law at the George Washington University Law School.

Shared custody advocate Dr. Ned Holstein and Joan Meier, a law professor, debate the social implications of battles between moms and dads over custody.

Ned Holstein is a divorced father of two adult children and is the custodial parent of his third child, a senior in college. Ned graduated from Harvard College, then obtained a Masters degree from M.I.T. before attending Mount Sinai School of Medicine. He is the founder and president of Fathers and Families.

Joan Meier is Professor of Clinical Law at the George Washington University Law School. In 2003, she founded the Domestic Violence Legal Empowerment and Appeals Project (DV LEAP), a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing appellate and amicus representation in cases of legal importance. Her research and publications focus on domestic violence, criminal procedure, civil rights, and child custody.

To contact Jeanne Hannah with your questions or to view her Family Law website, click here.

Conciliation Practice

David Vigliotta of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts sent me an email yesterday announcing the completion of a report by Family Law Education Reform (FLER). FLER was created to investigate whether or not the law school’s family law curriculum adequately prepares future family lawyers for today’s challenges of practice. The report was sponsored by the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts and the Center for Children, Families and the Law of Hofstra Law School.

The Report’s answer to the question whether future lawyers are adequately trained is “not well.”  This conclusion requires reconsideration of the nature and purposes of legal education in an area central to the welfare of thousands of children and parents.

David Vigliotta also announces that the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts will be hosting its 43rd Annual Conference in Tampa Bay, May 31-June3, 2006 and there will be two workshops on FLER.  Here’s a link to the conference brochure.