NJSBA Family Law Section

Good afternoon Family Law Section members,

On Thursday, Aug. 18, NJICLE will present the NJSBA 2022 Summer Conference - A Special One Day Virtual Event featuring 10 seminars, 8.2 CLE credits, including 2.0 in diversity and inclusion, and over 50 speakers. The conference is the best opportunity to earn CLE and hear from some of the top attorneys, judges, and other professionals in New Jersey.

The program will be presented entirely online - attend from any location. Register for the day, and attend a program in each timeslot.

Of interest to Family Law attorneys:

SESSION ONE - 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
Client Relations: Contracts, Billing strategies, Communications, and Collections
Speaker: Claude E. Ducloux, Esq.

As an attorney, you're often so busy working on legal matters that it can be challenging to find the time to handle the business side of managing your practice. Worse yet, your business matters can often wind up taking up a huge amount of time you don't have.

Are you looking for a way to make the most of the time you spend running your practice? Can you use strategies to collect more money – or to collect money more efficiently? Could you use strategies to regain a few hours of time every week?

Don't miss out on this unique opportunity to hear directly from one of the nation's top experts on the business of running a law firm - Claude E. Ducloux, Esq. - as he shares his best strategies with you. As an attendee, you'll tap into sound practices that will change your practice – and your life – for the better.

Hear from expert Claude Ducloux, as he shares strategies to make your life easier and the business of running your practice more effective and enjoyable, including:
• Vibrant Effective Communication as the key to Success in Practice
• Most Common Grievances: lack of Communication, Neglect, Fees, Misuse of Retainers
• Seeing Yourself as a Problem Solver- Interviewing is a skill
• Communication and Interviewing Skills- Setting goals and understandings early
• Standard of Care for lawyer, ABA Model Rules;
• Daily requirements for communication- setting priorities;
• Discovering and handling Conflicts of Interest
• Privacy Policies, Cyber Security, and handling sensitive information;
• Computer mistakes and settings to avoid;
• A compendium of potential fee agreements (handout)
• Handling Difficult Clients, and Difficult Opposing Counsel
• Keeping the Relationship Healthy
• Billing, Billing, Billing
• Avoiding Fee Disputes and Claims
• Handling Grievances
• Statistics on Malpractice Claims
• Correct Use of Client Trust Accounts

Also in Session 1:
Negotiating End of Life Issues for Clients with Dementia
Are You Looking at Me - Keeping the Remote Witness Engaged and Honest

SESSION TWO - 9:45 to 11:45 a.m.
NFT's and Crypto - What's All the Fuss About? The Legal Ramifications of this Emerging Currency
Speakers: Susan Miano, CPA/ABV, CFF; Jennifer Sandefur, CPA, CBE, CCE; Albertina Webb, Esq.

We hear about it every day – crypto currency is in the news. The digital currencies have captured the attention and imagination of a new generation of investors across the globe. From Bitcoin to Ethereum and others, there's little question that the volatile and fast-moving crypto industry keeps participants, observers, and regulators on edge.

When lawyers think of assets, we often think of the kind we can hold and feel. Traditionally, those assets have consisted of cash, real estate, cars, jewelry, stock and businesses. However, the time has come when cryptocurrency must be considered in legal transactions. As more people acquire them as part of their portfolios, they must also be accounted for in legal transactions, including divorce, estate planning and others. However, there are special considerations to be aware of in order to ensure that your client's interests in their cryptocurrency are protected.

This program will help you in dealing with and understanding this new type of currency. A seasoned attorney and an experienced accountant will help you understand what bitcoin is and how it is purchased and traded. Then, they will delve into the ramifications of bitcoin as an asset, including how to locate it, value it, divide it, and the accompanying tax consequences.
This seminar is for lawyers in all practice areas. If you've wanted to learn about Bitcoin, this program will give you the basics and a working knowledge of the terms and procedures in buying and trading the currency.

The Depp v. Heard Trial - What We Can Learn About Evidence, Decorum, and Civility
Co-Moderators/Speakers: Marisa Baker, Esq.; John Nachlinger, Esq.
Speakers: Hon. Heidi W. Currier, JAD; Hon. Louis F. Locascio, JSC (Ret.); Hon. Owen C. McCarthy, JSC; Lauren D. Fraser, Esq.

The Depp v. Heard trial captivated the country with large numbers of people tuning in to watch as if it was a movie the litigants starred in instead of the legal proceeding it actually was. From a legal perspective, much can be learned from how the trial unfolded. This seminar will show clips from the actual trial and then the panel will discuss the various legal issues and concerns seen in the clips. If watching the trial was your guilty pleasure, then this seminar is for you!

Topics Include:
• Objections and overcoming them
• Evidence in Trials: Hearsay, Foundation, and Relevance
• Preparing your witness to testify
• Getting in non-testimonial evidence
• Professionalism and decorum during Trial
• Creating a record for appeal
• And much more!

Also in Session 2:
401K's, IRA's and other Attorney Investments: What You Should Know Now So You Can Enjoy Your Retirement Later

SESSION THREE- PLENARY - 12:15 to 1:55 p.m.
Recognizing Implicit Bias in Your Practice and Cases
Earn diversity and inclusion credits!
Moderator/Speaker: Robert T. Szyba, Esq.
Speakers: Stephanie D. Gironda, Esq.; Terry D. Johnson, Esq.; Deborah Mains, Esq.; Stephanie Wilson, Esq.

Our biases are like a computer operating system. They run in the background but play an essential part in how we interact with family, friends, colleagues, and clients. Everyone has biases. They are formed directly and indirectly by our upbringing, education, work, and friendships. They affect our actions and decision making unconsciously. Our seminar will help you develop an awareness of implicit bias and how it impacts your motivation, judgment, and decision making.

Topics Include:
• What is implicit bias?
• How to recognize it
• How do you identify it?
• How do you address it?
• The multiple levels and layers of implicit bias
• Large firm initiatives
• What can small and midsized firm do to improve their awareness levels?
• Affinity bias
• The negative impact implicit bias can have on the workplace
• Diversity and inclusion
• Training strategies for addressing implicit bias at work

SESSION FOUR - 2:05 to 3:45 p.m.
Parental Alienation
Moderator/Speaker: Eileen A. Kohutis, Ph.D.
Speakers: Ronald G. Lieberman, Esq.; Matheu D. Nunn, Esq.

Parental alienation involves only a small percentage of high-conflict custody cases, yet they occupy an inordinate amount of the court's time. Part of the reason for this is because the child vigorously resists or rejects visitation with the other parent and this refusal is contrary to the relationship that the parent and child had prior to the divorce.

In some instances, where children have witnessed domestic violence or have been emotionally abused, they become estranged from the other parent. In cases where a child prefers to spend more time with another parent due to common interests and temperament, but also spends time with the other parent, the child is expressing an affinity to one parent over another. But, in parental alienation, a child mightily rejects spending time with the other parent and, when interviewed, parrots statements that the other parent has said, or makes shallow criticisms of the other parent. In response to this, the rejected parent seeks intervention from the court, but the court's resources are limited. The court may not recognize parental alienation syndrome but will recognize the behavior that a parent engages in which alienates child from parent. The court may refer the family to an individual therapist for family therapy or may send the family to some of the various programs that exist around the country that promote themselves as remediators of parental alienation.

This presentation will provide an overview of parental alienation and some of the reunification therapies intended to address this dilemma.

Also in Session 4:
A "Taste" of Smart Contracts – The Look of Contracts in the Future
Hot Tips for Hot Litigators

CLE Credits (for the full day):
NJ CLE information: This program has been approved by the Board on Continuing Legal Education of the Supreme Court of New Jersey for 8.2 hours of total CLE credit. Of these, 2.0 qualify as hours of credit for diversity and inclusion.
NJ CLE: This program has been approved for 8.2 credits (50 minute hour), including 2.0 diversity and inclusion credit.
PA CLE: 5.0 substantive and 1.5 ethics credits pending ($32 fee – separate check payable to NJICLE must be submitted at the end of the program)
NY CLE (nt): 5.5 professional practice and 2.0 diversity, inclusion and elimination of bias credits

The tuition for NJSBA members is $175. The general tuition is $220.

Click here to register and choose your sessions for the 2022 NJSBA Summer Conference - A Special One Day Virtual Event.

For questions or to register by phone, please contact an association representative at 732-214-8500, or by email at [email protected].

All the best,
Barb

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Barbara Straczynski
Director of New Media and Promotions
New Jersey State Bar Association
New Brunswick NJ
(732) 937-7524
[email protected]
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