By Ketan Soni

A. We had a Council meeting on March 23, 2023. It was gloriously held over Zoom. The next (and final) meeting for this bar year is on May 18, 2023, in Cary.

Did you know that you can attend Council meetings remotely, thus eliminating travel? Well, now you know how easy it really can be to get involved.

B. Jill Jackson takes reign shortly as your next putative Chair. Listen to her interview with Shelby Benton, recipient of the John B. McMillan Distinguished Service Award, which can be found in the March 3, 2023, blog post.

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By Elysia Prendergast-Jones

A new year comes with new commitments, new resolutions, and a fresh outlook on our impact in the community. This year, we want to invite you to start the new year by checking off your pro bono commitments for the year. Our family law bar is a very active bar with valuable knowledge that people are always seeking. With time commitments that have us all working around the clock, let the pro bono team make life a little sweeter with pre-planned events that will allow you to get involved with pro bono and give the gift of knowledge.

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By Suzanne Chester

In October 2020, I wrote about the weaponization of the charge of parental alienation in family court, and how it obscures the multiple legitimate reasons children have for rejecting contact with a parent.

In 2022, three influential organizations took a public position on this issue of parent-child contact problems. The American Professional Society Against Child Abuse (APSAC) is the leading national organization supporting professionals who serve children and families affected by child maltreatment and violence. Over the years, APSAC has repeatedly opposed the harmful presumption among many family court professionals that parental alienation is the reason for a child refusing contact with the other parent. In its most recent position statement, APSAC warns that a rush to blame one parent for the child’s aversion to contact with the other parent results in professionals failing to investigate allegations of abuse or mistreatment and making recommendations that are detrimental to the child’s best interests.

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By Ketan Soni

I’m thankful that I’m still your chair. You are probably thankful that Jill Jackson will be your next chair. Please don’t impeach me. We just had a Council meeting on November 17.

Here’s an update on my goals.

1. Succession Plan: It’s going to get done by December 31, 2022. So far, zero progress. I only get to fail on December 31, 2022, if I still haven’t done it.

2. Financial Affidavits: We can’t stop winning. We have broken down how to update the financial affidavits by delving into 6 buckets:

• “Form” of the Financial Affidavit
• “Income” section of the Financial Affidavit
• “Fixed” or “Shared Family” section
• “Individual Monthly” expenses
• Depicting Standard of Living v. Current Standard
• User Experience. “User” means our clients, the judges, and ourselves.

We have over 20 people working on this across the state: large counties, small counties, paralegals, attorneys, and more!

3. To streamline Council meetings. It’s an 80/20 on this one now. We’ve made progress. Our last meeting was only 1.5 hours. Read more

By Elysia Prendergast-Jones

The month of October brings awareness to many causes. It is Cancer Awareness Month, Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and Pro Bono Month.

Let’s talk about what we can do as family law attorneys to bring some awareness to Pro Bono Month.

The North Carolina State Bar asks each lawyer to commit to providing 50 hours of legal services to those who are unable to pay, according to Rule 6.1, which states in further detail: every lawyer should

“(a) provide a substantial majority of the (50) hours of legal services without fee or expectation of fee to:

(1) persons of limited means;

(2) charitable, religious, civic, community, governmental and educational organizations in matters that are designed primarily to address the needs of persons of limited means; or

(3) individuals, groups or organizations seeking to secure or protect civil rights, civil liberties or public rights, or charitable, religious, civic, community, governmental and educational organizations in matters in furtherance of their organizational purposes, where the payment of standard legal fees would significantly deplete the organization’s economic resources or would be otherwise inappropriate;

(b) provide any additional services through:

(1) the delivery of legal services described in paragraph (a) at a substantially reduced fee; or

(2) participation in activities for improving the law, the legal system or the legal profession.

In addition, a lawyer should voluntarily contribute financial support to organizations that provide legal services to persons of limited means.” Read more