NEW LAWS AND CUTTING EDGE DIVORCE PRACTICES 2008

New Laws & Cutting-Edge Legal Trends in Custody and Divorce 8:00 a.m. 8:30 to 9:45 Registration Introduction by Adrienne King, Esq., Program Chairperson Preparing Your Client for Settlement Negotiations Speaker: Suzanne Gelb, Ph.D., Esq. This presentation will examine how the settlement process (from written settlement proposals, to mediation, to case conferences with a Judge) can trigger intense emotions in clients which can be a barrier to settlement - one client may react angrily and be unreasonable ("She cheated on me, I won't give her a dime"); another may well up with doubt and be indecisive ("I need the kids, I'm not sure I can give them up on weekends"). Strategies will be presented to illustrate how lawyers can prepare clients to participate meaningfully in the settlement process by minimizing emotional moments and prioritizing settlement goals. 9:45 to 10:15 Break 10:15 to 11:30 Children Who Refuse Visitation: Working with Estranged and Alienated Children and their Families Speaker: Marvin Acklin, Ph.D., ABPP This presentation focuses on concepts and models of assessment and treatment of children's refusal to visit and rejection of a parent in the context of marital separation, divorce, and child custody disputes. The individual, relational, and family dynamics of visitation refusal will be reviewed. Understanding the factors associated with visitation refusal requires review of the work of Gardner, Janet Johnston, and Joan Kelly. A multi-relational assessment model for diagnosing visitation refusal and methods of working with families, including Family Court linkage, will be described. Participants will have updated information, exposure to assessment and treatment approaches, as well as exposure to resources in this most challenging area of child forensic psychology. 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Lunch Break 1:00 to 2:15 Children's Play in Custody Evaluations: Justifications and Challenges Speaker: Anita Trubitt, LCSW Play is a universal and natural activity of children, often revealing more about their thoughts, feelings and wishes than their words. Play therapy techniques for evaluation and treatment in clinical work is well supported in the literature. Whether inferences drawn by clinicians as they observe the play of children are sufficiently reliable and valid to be conceptualized as data helpful to a family court judge is the current challenge in undertaking forensic work. The AFCC has developed new standards of practice for custody evaluators in which the only acceptable methodologies are "evidence based." This workshop addresses the utility of using several play therapy techniques as part of a comprehensive protocol. Our data must come from a variety of sources, and the play observations of the child individually and with each parent often support our overall assessment of child needs and parental abilities to meet them. The challenge is in the responsible formulation of inferences that will guide our recommendations to the court. 2:15 to 2:45 2:45 to 3:30 Break Forensic Safe Home Family Visits & the New Laws Speaker: Laurette Schaller, M.F.T., S.A.P., Ph.D. Evaluation of the child's home is a necessary part of the Court Appointed Social Study, which is completed by the C.E./GAL in order to write a Custody Evaluation. The "Forensic Safe Home Family Visit" is an intrinsic part of the Court Appointed Custody Evaluation Reports. Their impact on Custody Evaluation Recommendations and the resulting court orders made by judges in former Child Custody Evaluation cases will be discussed, based upon the new laws: the Best Interests of the Child Bill, Act 114 and the Custody Evaluator Bill, Act 149, which address the needs of children and families in custody and visitation determinations. 3:30 to 4:00 Questions & Answers DATE: July 24, 2008 LOCATION: HEI Training Center, 1001 Bishop Street, 8th floor COST: $125 MCLE: 3 MAHALO: This seminar has been coordinated with the assistance of the Honolulu Family Court Professionals DISTINGUISHED FACULTY Adrienne King, Esq., is immediate past Chair of the HSBA's Family Law Section and founder and Chair of the Honolulu Family Court Professionals, whose purpose is to serve the public interest in strengthening Hawaii's families, promote the integrity and competency of professionals who work in Family Court and advocate for legislation consistent therewith. Adrienne received the "Outstanding Community Service" award from the Family Law Section in June 2000 and has been on the Family Law Working Group Task Force at the legislature since 2005. She was admitted to the Hawaii Bar in 1972 and practices with her husband as King & King. LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker in the private practice of child and family therapy and co-founder of the Hawaii Association for Play Therapy. She is frequently appointed to provide child therapy and parenting counseling for litigating families, and has served the court as a CE and KIDS FIRST presenter. Her self-published book Play Therapy Goes to Court: Implications and Applications in Contested Child Custody is the content of numerous conference presentations for the Association for Play Therapy, Play Therapy International, the Association of Family & Conciliation Courts, and training sessions and workshops conducted locally. Suzanne J. Gelb, Ph.D., Esq., is an attorney. Dr. Gelb has a solo practice in Honolulu, focusing on family law. She graduated from California Western School of Law, Magna Cum Laude (2002) with a concentration in Child, Family and Elder Law. Dr. Gelb earned law school awards for academic excellence in Mediation and in Interviewing, Counseling and Negotiation. Dr. Gelb is an arbitrator on the panel of the State of Hawaii Judiciary's Court Annexed Arbitration Program, and she is a Mediator. She concentrates on divorce/family disputes. Dr. Gelb is a member of the Association of Conflict Resolution. Dr. Gelb is a Psychologist and has a solo practice in Honolulu, focusing on family therapy. She is a registered Psychologist, Saskatchewan, Canada. Dr. Gelb has Doctorates in Psychology (1994) and in Human Services (1988). She is an author and is the resident psychologist writer since 1998 for Hawaii Parent, a bi-monthly magazine for families targeting 80,000 homes. Dr. Gelb is the author of "When The Other Parent Doesn't Play Fair" and "Time-Out" (Family Advocate, Section of Family Law, American Bar Association, Summer 2007). She was featured in "Attorneys Who Write" (Hawaii Bar Journal, August 2007). Dr. Laurette Schaller, Ph.D., M.F.T. (HI & CAL), S.A.P., has lived and worked on Kaua'i for 20 years serving as courtappointed custody evaluator and guardian ad litem in the 1st and 5th Circuit Courts of Hawai'i, and The Superior Court of Washington. She focuses on contested, relocation, and "Specialty Assignments," in the Islands, and has handled cases involving multiple states: Hawai'i, Washington, Kentucky, Virginia, and Colorado. She has received many honors and has given several national presentations. She is on the Best Interest of the Child Committee for the Legislative Family Court Interventions Working Group (S.R. 10.). Dr. Schaller is the Chair of the HAMFT Ethics Committee; a KEO Mediator - Advisory Board Member; and a A.F.C.C. Member. She has taught post-graduate studies and provided diagnosis and treatment at hospitals such as the Brea Hospital Neuropsychiatric Center. After Hurricane Iniki on Kauai, the American Red Cross, Washington D.C., gave her recognition “For Selfless Efforts During the Disaster Relief Operation in the Hawaiian Islands.” Dr. Schaller is a consultant for attorneys and mentor for prospective CE/GALs. Anita Trubitt, Dr. Marvin Acklin, Ph.D., ABPP, has a full-time independent practice in clinical and forensic psychology in Honolulu. He is an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychology in the John Burns School of Medicine. He has published approximately 30 scholarly articles and has conducted or supervised over 3,000 psychological evaluations. He has been qualified as an expert in State, Federal, and Immigration courts in Hawaii and is a well-known consultant to attorneys and the Honolulu Family Court. He received his Ph.D in Clinical Psychology from Georgia State University in 1984. New Laws & Cutting-Edge Legal Trends in Custody and Divorce Litigation July 24, 2008 HEI Training Center 1001 Bishop Street, 8th floor Cost: $125 Print Full Name_______________________________________________________ Firm________________________________ Address_______________________________________________________________________Phone_____________________ If you are an Hawaii attorney, you must provide your J.D. Number ___________Email___________________________________ Signature of Registrant_____________________________________________________________________________________ Payment Type: Visa__________ Mastercard________________ Expiration Date____________ Check___________ Credit Card Number________________________________Card Holder Signature_____________________________________ TOTAL PAYMENT ENCLOSED $________________________________________________ Cancellation A refund will be made if we receive written notice of cancellation five business days before the seminar; however, $15 will be deducted to cover administrative costs. Twenty dollars ($20) will be charged for insufficient funds. Manuals will be available at the seminar only for those registered two weeks prior to the seminar. Walk-ins are not guaranteed manuals at the time of the seminar. Questions/Special Accommodations Contact Lisa Tsukayama at (808) 792-7333 or ltsukayama@hsba.org. CLE Credit The HSBA is a State Bar of California approved MCLE provider. HSBA certifies that the seminar has been approved for MCLE credit by the State Bar of California for 3 credit hours. Mail or Fax registration Fax to 808-521-7936 or mail to Hawaii State Bar Association, 1132 Bishop Street, Ste. 906, Hon. HI 96813. Attention: Lisa Tsukayama This seminar is subject to change. The Hawaii State Bar Association (HSBA) reserves the right to cancel the seminar without liability, and the HSBA shall, in such a situation, return the amounts paid to the registrant. Please note that the location and/or times of the seminar are subject to change. Please check for possible changes a day before the seminar by emailing ltsukayama@hsba.org. The seminar will be videotaped and or photographed, and your registration constitutes your voluntary consent to such videotaping and or/photography without monetary compensation. This seminar may be available for purchase as a DVD plus course materials approximately three weeks after the seminar; the order form is on the HSBA website at www.hsba.org under Publication List.