AFCC eNEWS - June 2007

Please click the following link for the website version:
http://afccnet.org/members/eNewsletter/2007jun_eNEWS.html

AFCC and NCJFCJ Cosponsor Regional Training Conference in Columbus
Conference Brochure and Scholarship Application Online
The conference program and scholarship application for the AFCC and NCJFCJ Regional Training Conference, Applications for High Conflict Families, Domestic Violence and Alienation, September 27-29, 2007 in Columbus are now available online. The conference features three full days of program tracks designed for judges, mediators, custody evaluators, lawyers and parenting coordinators. Participants can sign up for a full track or mix and match the sessions that are of most interest. The conference takes place at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Columbus, which is offering the special rate of $131 per night for a single or double room. Please make your reservations online or by calling the hotel at (800) 233-1234 and identify yourself with AFCC to receive the special group rate. Make plans today to join AFCC and NCJFCJ for this first-time conference collaboration.
Conference Brochure (PDF)
Scholarship application...

AFCC's 44th Annual Conference Sells Out in Washington, D.C.
AFCC Thanks Conference Sponsors
More than 900 participants traveled from 18 countries to take part in AFCC's 44th Annual Conference, May 30-June 2, 2007 in Washington, D.C. The conference featured record-breaking attendance, nearly 70 sessions on the latest topics that impact children and families and more than 180 presenters from Canada, Taiwan, United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and the United States. AFCC would like to thank its conference sponsors for their generous support in helping make this conference a success: Platinum Sponsor UpToParents.org, Networking Sponsor Complete Equity Markets, Inc. and Gold Sponsor the OurFamilyWizard website. Please click the link below for the attendee verification form and more information on AFCC's 44th Annual Conference.
AFCC Past Conferences Page...

Free Domestic Violence Workshop and Plenary Session Audio in MP3 Format
AFCC's 44th Annual Conference
AFCC's 44th Annual Conference audio provider, Digital Conference Providers, Inc., is offering free online access to audio for the workshop, Differential Assessment and Intervention in Domestic Violence Cases, presented by Hon Susan B. Carbon, Billie Lee Dunford-Jackson, J.D., Hon. William G. Jones (ret.) and Nancy Ver Steegh, J.D., M.S.W. AFCC eNEWS subscribers are invited to listen online by clicking the link below. AFCC members also have access to plenary sessions from the conference for free download by logging into the Member Center on the AFCC Web site.
Listen to Differential Assessment and Intervention in Domestic Violence Cases...
Plenary Session Audio in MP3 Format (Members Only)

RESEARCH UPDATE
Mothers with ADHD Have Children with More Problems
Courtesy of J.M. Craig Press, Inc.
We have known for some time that certain mental health problems, such as depression, serious mental illness, and substance abuse can impact child rearing when they are severe enough. This is the first study we have seen that examines the role of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in child rearing. The authors' major hypothesis was that ADHD mothers would monitor their children differently from other mothers.
Read more...

CASE LAW UPDATE
Arbitration of Divorce Actions
by Barbara Glesner Fines, Ruby M. Hulen Professor of Law, University of Missouri-Kansas City
The Michigan Court of Appeals held that a divorce court erred in granting default judgment against the husband for failing to participation in arbitration in light of the court's own failure to comply with the requirements of the Domestic Relations Arbitration statute regarding written agreements to arbitrate and judicial disclosures regarding the process. The split opinion provides interesting reading as the judges debate the importance of the procedural protections in the arbitration statute against the importance of judicial contempt power.
Johnson v. Johnson, 2007 Mich. App. LEXIS 1480 (June 7, 2007) View opinion (PDF)For more daily case law and other legal developments, visit the Family Law Prof Blog.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Justice Canada's New Publication for Children
Courtesy of the Department of Justice Canada
The Department of Justice Canada has a new publication for children between the ages of nine and twelve. Entitled, What Happens Next? Information for kids about separation and divorce, this booklet is designed to help children learn about family law and give them an idea of the legal processes that parents may go through when they split up. It is also meant to help children realize it's normal for them to have an emotional response to their parents' separation and encourages them to talk with someone they trust. A PDF of the 64-page booklet is available in its entirety online by following the link below.
More information...

Drops from Down Under - Publication Gone Wrong
by Hon. Graham Mullane, New South Wales, Australia
Under section 121 of the Australian Family Law Act, it is an offence to publish names of the children, the parties or witnesses in proceedings in the Family Court or information identifying any of them. There is an exception where the publication is permitted by an order of the Court.
Read more...

News from Across the Pond
by Karen Mackay, Chief Executive, Resolution, Kent, England
Family law and the family law environment is in a state of constant flux in England and Wales (Scotland and Northern Ireland are separate jurisdictions). Part of Resolution's job, as the largest association of family lawyers in the UK, is to lobby for better family law and better procedures, so the family justice system works in the best interests of the users, the clients. Solicitors (attorneys), as repeat players in the family justice system, have a unique insight into the effect of the operation of the courts and family legislation on those people who find themselves often reluctantly, frequently fearfully and almost always at the most emotionally fraught times in their lives - caught up in the system.
Read more...

Judicial Training Program in Iran
by Dr. Willie McCarney, Past President, International Association of Youth and Family Judges, Past Chairman of the Northern Ireland Youth and Family Courts Association, Belfast, Ireland
In 2006, I was invited as one of two international experts to assist with a Judicial Training Program in Iran. As is usual in such circumstances, I began by doing a little homework.
Read more...

FEATURED ARTICLES
Negotiating Like a Woman - How Gender Impacts Communication between the Sexes
by Nina Meierding and Jan Frankel Schau, courtesy of Mediate.com
Anyone who has ever been married will admit that men and women argue differently. It should be no surprise to learn that women and men negotiate and communicate differently as well. After many years of practicing law and serving as mediators, the authors believe that there are certain ways than men communicate that are distinct from "a woman's voice." Mediators and representatives can utilize their knowledge of gender communication to foster better resolutions between parties.
Read more...

International Academy of Collaborative Professionals Responds to Colorado Bar Advisory Opinion
by Talia Katz, Executive Director, International Academy of Collaborative Professionals
Three state statutes have been enacted recognizing the legitimacy of collaborative law (Texas, North Carolina, and California) and ethics opinions regarding collaborative law have been rendered in six jurisdictions in the United States. Five of these opinions concluded that the practice of collaborative law is consistent with the code of legal ethics in that jurisdiction. The most recent opinion, from the state of Colorado in February 2007, concluded that a collaborative participation agreement that lawyers as well as clients execute violates rule 1.7 of the Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct. The IACP Task Force on Ethics has published a response to the Colorado opinion.
View CBA Ethics Opinion...
View IACP Ethics Task Force Response (PDF)

AFCC NEWS SPOTLIGHT
AFCC and NCJFCJ Cosponsor Wingspread Think Tank on Domestic Violence and Family Courts
by B. L. Dunford-Jackson, Co-Director, Family Violence Department, NCJFCJ and Peter Salem, Executive Director, AFCC
Family court judges, lawyers, domestic violence advocates, social science and legal scholars, court administrators and psychologists were among the nearly 40 participants who attended a Think Tank on Domestic Violence and Family Courts, cosponsored by AFCC and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) on February 15-17, 2007 at the Johnson Foundation's Wingspread Conference Center in Racine, Wisconsin.
Read article...

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