Description

4th Annual Family Law Conference for Alabama Practitioners

Friday, December 8, 2020
Embassy Suites Birmingham – Hoover
2960 John Hawkins Pkwy
Birmingham, AL

If your practice involves family law, you don't want to miss this one-day seminar delivering an insider’s perspective on the most significant recent developments in Alabama family law. This is a superior CLE learning and networking opportunity for attorneys practicing in this area of the law.

Highlights:

• Custody and visitation issues, including the increased awarding of joint physical custody and considerations for special needs children
• Grounds for child support deviations
• Division and valuation of assets and debts
• Judges’ panel discussing child custody, parenting time, calculating child support, imputing income, and more
• Tips for drafting agreements
• Prenuptial and post-nuptial agreements
• Recent decisions regarding family law matters
• Legislative update—what passed and what to expect in the future
• Handling social media, e-mail, video, and other ESI
• Trends in appellate decisions
• Tips on preserving your case for appeal and avoiding malpractice pitfalls
• Ethical considerations in divorce—client communication, avoiding conflicts of interest, mishandling funds from the divorce settlement, and addressing attorney fees to avoid disputes

You'll Learn:

• The latest rulings from the Alabama appellate courts on child custody, child support, alimony, division of marital property, and more.
• What the Alabama legislature passed this year and what issues are in the offing.
• What issues Jefferson County Circuit Judges Agnes Chappell, Reginald Jeter, and Patricia Stephens see in divorce cases and what factors they consider in resolving child custody, child support, and division of property disputes.
• How child support is calculated, when will income be imputed, and when deviations are appropriate.
• How to distinguish marital and non-martial property and how to value assets and martial property.
• What to consider in retirement plans and QDROs.
• What issues arise when divorce disputes involve special needs children.
• What are the latest e-discovery precautions and risks.
• What to consider when drafting prenuptial and post-nuptial agreements.
• How to handle social media and how to make electronic evidence usable in the courtroom.
• How to preserve your case for appeal and avoid malpractice pitfalls.
• How to follow ethical guidelines when communicating with your client, how to avoid conflicts of interest, how to handle funds from the divorce settlement, and how to address attorney fees to avoid disputes.

Full Agenda

Family Law Update
8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
Joan-Marie Sullivan
Law Office of Joan-Marie Sullivan

• Recent decisions regarding family law matters
• Trends in appellate decisions
• Tips on preserving your case for appeal and avoiding malpractice pitfalls

Ethical Considerations in Divorce
9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Charles Dunn
Boyd, Fernambucq & Dunn, P.C.

• Client communication
• Avoiding conflicts of interest
• Mishandling funds from the divorce settlement
• Addressing attorney fees to avoid disputes

MORNING BREAK
10:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.

Custody and Support Considerations
10:45 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
Bradley A. Green
King & Green, LLC

• Increased awarding of joint physical custody
• Considerations for special needs children
• Grounds for child support deviations
• Tips for drafting agreements

LUNCH (on your own)
11:45 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Electronic Evidence
1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Laura Montgomery
Crittenden Partners, P.C.

• The latest e-discovery precautions, risks and advice
• Handling social media, e-mail, video, and other ESI
• Making your electronic evidence usable in the courtroom

A Judicial Perspective: Custody, Support, Asset Division and More
2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Judge Agnes Chappell, Jefferson County circuit court, Domestic Relations Division, Birmingham
Judge Reginald Jeter, Jefferson County circuit court, Bessemer
Judge Patricia Stephens, Jefferson County circuit court, Domestic Relations Division, Birmingham

The panel will discuss what issues come before the court in child custody cases and what factors courts consider in resolving those disputes.

• What is in the child’s best interest?
• What will be the childcare arrangements?
• Are the parties willing to cooperate with the other parent?
• What about holidays and vacations?
• Calculating child support
• Imputing income
• Modifications
• Marital vs. non-marital property
• Valuation of assets and marital property

AFTERNOON BREAK
3:00 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.

Division and Valuation of Assets and Debts
3:15 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.
Sam D. Bone
Dani V. Bone & Sam D. Bone, Attorneys at Law

• Marital division mechanics
• Prenuptial and post-nuptial agreement considerations
• Marital vs. non-marital property
• Retirement plan division/QDRO considerations
• Valuation of assets and marital property
• Common mistakes

Legislative Update
4:15 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.
Austin Burdick
Burdick Law Firm

• Recently passed legislation
• Bills from the prior session relating to family law originating in the House and Senate Judiciary Committees
• Bills being discussed in the Alabama Law Institute Family Law Committee

Your Faculty

Sam D. Bone is an attorney with Dani V. Bone & Sam D. Bone, Attorneys at Law, in Gadsden, He has been selected as a “Top 40 Lawyer under 40” by the National Trial Lawyer’s Association. His primary practice areas are car accidents, personal injury, divorce, custody, DUIs, domestic violence, drug charges, and other criminal cases. Mr. Bone earned his B.S. from the University of Alabama and his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Alabama School of Law. While in law school, he was selected for the trial competition class.
 

Austin Burdick, with the Burdick Law Firm in Bessemer, is an experienced attorney with an excellent academic and professional background. He is recognized by his peers as an outstanding constitutional law and Alabama family law attorney, having represented family law clients at the trial court, the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals, and the Alabama Supreme Court. Demand for Mr. Burdick’s constitutional arguments has allowed him to practice throughout Alabama as a trial and appellate advocate. He is also an experienced criminal defense lawyer having represented clients facing everything from a life sentence to traffic fines. He is also a trained civil and domestic relations mediator. He is experienced in issues involving uncontested divorces, contested divorces, prenuptial agreements, child custody, child support, business formation, collections, and criminal defense.
 

Judge Agnes Chappell, being the first black female to practice law in Jefferson County, has been in the legal profession for over 38 years. She presently serves as Circuit Judge, Domestic Relations Division, 10th Judicial Circuit (Jefferson County). She served as Municipal Court Judge for the City of Birmingham for 14 years. In Municipal Court she presided over the Misdemeanor and Domestic Violence Court. She established the Domestic Violence Court, the first therapeutic court, for the City of Birmingham. She has vast experience in the area of family and juvenile delinquency law, having served as a Senior Trial Referee at the Jefferson County Family Court for over 15 years and as a partner in the law firm of Brown, Chappell and Burrell. Judge Chappell is past chair of the Minor Sex Trafficking Committee for The Women’s Fund of Greater Birmingham, past chair of the Grants and Allocations Committee of The Women’s Fund of Greater Birmingham, past member of Voices against Domestic Violence Steering Committee, president and founder of The NRS Community Support Corporation, member of the board of directors for The Rising Stars and Bethel Learning Centers, member of the Alabama Domestic Violence Statutory Revision Committee, and member of the board of directors of the Community Policing and Revitalization of the City of Birmingham. She is a member of the Momentum Leadership Alumni Board of Directors and served as chair of volunteers for the 2014 Momentum Women in Leadership Conference. She is also a board member of Zonta of Birmingham. She is chair of the Magic City Bar Association Judicial Council. She mentors high school and college students and young lawyers.
 

Charles H. Dunn is a partner at Boyd, Fernambucq & Dunn, P.C., in Birmingham where his practice concentrates in the areas of divorce, matrimonial law, family law, and child custody. Mr. Dunn frequently lectures on family law issues. He has written and published numerous articles on a vast array of subjects pertaining to his field of practice. His trial practice takes him to Jefferson, Shelby, St. Clair, Tuscaloosa and Walker counties, and he has a statewide appellate practice. He earned his B.S. from Guilford College and his J.D. from Cumberland School of Law at Samford University. Mr. Dunn is a member of the Birmingham Bar Association and a member of the Family Law Section of the Alabama State Bar.
 

Bradley A. Green, of King & Green, LLC in Birmingham, focuses his practice on domestic relations, civil litigation and probate litigation. He has been listed as one of the “Top Attorneys” in Birmingham Magazine’s and B-Metro’s annual profile of the Birmingham legal community. In 2016 he was named a “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers®. Mr. Green has appeared in the majority of Alabama’s judicial circuits, and is a regular speaker at various continuing legal education seminars. He regularly handles complex civil matters at all stages through trial and appeal. Focusing almost entirely on civil litigation, he maintains a busy trial practice involving complex domestic relations/family law cases, business/commercial litigation, retaliatory discharge defense, real estate disputes, along with various other types of civil and probate matters.
 

Judge Reginald Jeter is Circuit Court Judge in the Bessemer Division of Jefferson County, where he presides over workers’ compensation, domestic relations and criminal matters. Prior to becoming a judge, he served as Trial Attorney for Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company where he specialized in commercial insurance defense litigation. He was previously a partner at Haskell Slaughter Young & Rediker, LLC, where he was a member of the Litigation Practice Group and spent over a decade representing clients in a wide variety of complex insurance, employment and tort matters. Judge Jeter received his B.S. degree in Business Management from Samford University and his law degree from the University of Alabama School of Law, where he was a member of the John A. Campbell Moot Court Board, editor of the Law & Psychology Review, and a Law Clerk in the Bessemer District Attorney’s Office. He also holds a Master in Business Administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
 

Laura Montgomery began working at The Crittenden Firm in Birmingham as a Family Law Attorney in September 2010 and joined Crittenden Partners in September 2014 where she acts as Managing Partner. She is a member of both the Alabama and Tennessee Bar Associations and is actively involved in the Birmingham Bar Association family law section and is currently the Vice President of Public Service for the Young Lawyers Section. She is also a member of the American Bar Association. Ms. Montgomery is a 2006 cum laude graduate of the University of Alabama where she also earned her J.D. While a law student, she was a member of multiple national trial advocacy teams and the recipient of the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 George Peach Taylor Award for outstanding trial team performance. Ms. Montgomery is a member of the Rotaract Club of Birmingham, Birmingham's premier young professional and civic organization, where she served as the Vice President of Membership Development and Social Director on the Board of Directors.
 

Judge Patricia Stephens became a circuit court judge, Domestic Relations, 10th Judicial Circuit (Jefferson County) in January of 2013. Prior to serving on the bench, Judge Stephens was a prosecuting attorney for the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office for almost 10 years. Following that, she worked for a general practice law firm. Judge Stephens is a member of the Alabama State Bar Association, the Birmingham Bar Association, the Magic City Bar Association, the Birmingham Inns of Court, and the Circuit Court Judges Association. She is a graduate of Auburn University and the Miles College School of Law, where she graduated cum laude.
 

Joan-Marie Sullivan, with the Law Office of Joan-Marie Sullivan in Huntsville, has been in private practice in Huntsville since 1996 and concentrates mainly on family law and appellate matters. She is a 1985 Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Alabama and earned her law degree from the University of Alabama in 1988. She previously practiced law in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and worked at Lanier, Ford, Shaver & Payne and Wolfe, Jones & Boswell in Huntsville. She has served as editor of Alabama Law Weekly, a weekly newsletter, since 1996. She is certified by the Alabama Center for Dispute Resolution in Montgomery as a mediator in civil and domestic matters. She serves as secretary for the Family Law Section of the Alabama State Bar and is a frequent speaker at legal education seminars.

Please contact the event manager Marilyn below for the following: 
- Discounts for registering 5 or more participants.
- If you company requires a price quotation.
Event Manager Contact: marilyn.b.turner(at)nyeventslist.com
You can also contact us if you require a visa invitation letter, after ticket purchase. 
We can also provide a certificate of completion for this event if required.

NO REFUNDS ALLOWED ON REGISTRATIONS 
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