California Family Law Practice for Paralegals: Assisting in Cases Involving Children
DISCLAIMER
Before purchasing, review the rules of your licensing or certifying entity. It is your responsibility to confirm this course meets your CE requirements. See the credit tab on the course page for details.
What’s Included: Full webinar recording, written course materials, expert instruction, a mandatory quiz, and a certificate upon completion.
Deliverability Timeline: All courses are generally available within 1-2 weeks after the live presentation.
CE Credits: AIA and/or LA/CES accreditation is available by request for courses recorded prior to March 11, 2026. All courses after that date include those accreditations by default, if applicable. With these accreditations, our courses qualify for credit in nearly all states for engineers, surveyors, architects, and landscape architects.
Learn more about the on-demand format in our FAQ or contact us at (715) 835-5900 or customerservice@halfmoonseminars.org
Agenda
Webinar instructions will be emailed before the date of the webinar.
Please log into the webinar 15 – 30 minutes before start time.
Monday, October 24, 2022
8:30 am – 4:10 pm PDT (including a 60-min. break)
Presented by:
Pamela Ross, Sylvia Woods, Morgan Dobis and Esther Rosenfeld
Agenda
Assisting in Child Custody Disputes
Review of statutory terminology and criteria for determining custody
Examining recent case law
Custody checklist
Obtaining relevant information
• Client interview
• Investigation
• Formal discovery
Educating your client
Preparing the client for assessment/evaluation
Working with experts
Working with the guardian ad litem
Preparing for trial
Obtaining a custody modification
Assisting with Preparation of Parenting Plans
Providing for support
Allocating medical expenses
Assigning parenting rights and duties
Calculation of parenting time
Providing for conflict resolution
Other optional provisions
Obtaining, Enforcing and Modifying Child Support Awards
Current status of California child support law
Applying the child support guidelines
Obtaining relevant information from your client
Investigation and formal discovery
Using the child support calculator
Preparing the child support order
Completing withholding and medical support orders
Public and private enforcement of child support
Modifying child support orders
Use of Evidence Code 730 Evaluations in Custody Matters
Current status of custody law in California
Purpose of an EC 730 Evaluation
Preparing clients for the 730 Evaluation
Information to be sent to the 730 Evaluator
Use of special masters in custody matters
Re-unification therapy
When co-parenting counseling is appropriate
Assisting in Matters Involving Allegations of Abuse or Neglect
Defining abuse and neglect
Reviewing recent case law
Investigating allegations of abuse and neglect
Obtaining/opposing protective orders
Identifying and Resolving Ethical Issues in Cases Involving Children
Defining and promoting the best interest of the children
Understanding the scope of client confidentiality
Working with family law clients while preventing the unauthorized practice of law
Webinar Instructions
All attendees must log-on through their own email – attendees may not watch together if they wish to earn continuing education credit. HalfMoon Education Inc. must be able to prove attendance if either the attendee or HalfMoon Education Inc. is audited.
Certificates of completion can be downloaded in PDF form upon passing a short quiz. A link to the quiz will be sent to each qualifying attendee immediately after the webinar. The certificate can be downloaded from the Results page of the quiz upon scoring 80% or higher.
Webinars are presented via GoToWebinar, an easy-to-use application that can be run on most systems and tablets. Instructions and login information will be provided in an email sent close to the date of the webinar. It is highly recommended that you download, install and test the application before the webinar begins by clicking on the link in the email.
GoToWebinar App requirements:
Windows 7 – 10 or Mac OSX Mavericks (10.9) – macOS Catalina (10.15)
Web Browser:
The two most recent version of the following browsers:
Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Microsoft Edge
Internet Explorer v11 (or later) with Flash enabled
Internet connection: Minimum of 1Mbps Hardware: 2GB RAM or more
For more information, visit the Support section at www.gotowebinar.com
Credits
California Paralegals:
6.0 CLE Hours (includes 1.0 Ethics Hour)
NALA:
6.0 CLE Hours (includes 1.0 Ethics Hour)
NFPA:
6.0 CLE Hours (includes 1.0 Ethics Hour)
Continuing Education Credit Information
This webinar is open to the public and is designed to qualify for 6.0 CLE hours, including 1.0 legal ethics hour, for California paralegals. HalfMoon Education is an approved Multiple Activity Provider with the State Bar of California (Provider Number 8370).
This webinar has been evaluated and approved by the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA) for 6.0 CLE hours, including 1.0 legal ethics CLE hour.
This webinar has been evaluated and approved by the National Federation of Paralegal Associations for 6.0 total CLE hours (5.0 general CLE, 1.0 ethics CLE).
Attendance will be monitored, and attendance certificates will be available after the webinar for those who attend the entire course and score a minimum 80% on the quiz that follows the course (multiple attempts allowed).
Speakers
Morgan Dobis
Morgan Dobis, Ratzer | Dobis, A Practice Limited to Family Law
Ms. Dobis is a Californian native growing up in Big Bear California. Ms. Dobis attended University of La Verne where she was a varsity softball athlete. Ms. Dobis attended law school in San Diego and was admitted to the bar in 2012. Since entering the practice, Ms. Dobis has focused on all aspects of family law. She appears regularly in Court and is very experienced in what needs to be presented in Court to succeed. She relies heavily on the assistance of paralegals in her office and guides their efforts on a daily basis. In 2018 Ms. Dobis earned the designation, Certified Legal Specialist in Family Law, as certified by the State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization.
Esther Rosenfeld
Rosenfeld Family Law, P.C.Ms. Rosenfeld is a family law attorney and mediator specializing in divorce, child custody, property division, child and spousal support, relocation cases, premarital agreements, and related issues. Her emphasis is on mediating and collaborative problem solving whenever possible. Ms. Rosenfeld is fluent in Hebrew and is Rated “AV” by Martindale-Hubbell. She has been voted “Northern California SuperLawyer” and “Top Women Attorneys of Northern California” by California SuperLawyers magazine, “Top Lawyers in California” by American Lawyer Media. Ms. Rosenfeld is co-author of CEB’s Family Law Financial Discovery and CEB’s California Child and Spousal Support: Establishing, Modifying and Enforcing, and she has been a guest speaker on KALW’s “Your Legal Rights” and internet-based radio program “Business Leaders Spotlight.”
Pamela Ross
All for the Family Legal Clinic, Inc.Ms. Ross is the founder and Managing Attorney of All for the Family Legal Clinic, Inc. a Bay Area nonprofit focusing on family law and restraining orders. She also has a private firm, Pamela Ross Legal Services, PC where they assist modest means clients with Family law, Immigration, Labor/Employment, and Estate Planning/Probate issues. Ms. Ross served as the 2022 President of the Alameda County Bar Association (ACBA) and previously served as the Chair of the ACBA Family Law Section. She has been named a California Rising Star by Super Lawyers over various years since 2016. In May of 2015 she was honored by VLSC as their Volunteer of the Year and in March of 2014 she was honored by Assemblyman Bill Quirk’s office as the District 20 Woman of the Year in Law. Her background also includes six years working for Purchasing Management International, a purchasing firm for hotels and casinos and acting as a visiting professor at Westwood College in Dallas where she taught courses in English Literature and Ethics. Ms. Ross holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communications and a Bachelor’s degree in History from the University of San Diego. She also holds a Master’s degree in English Literature and received her Juris Doctorate from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law.
Sylvia Woods
Sylvia Woods Law Office of Sylvia Woods
At the law office of Sylvia Woods in Oakland City Center, she and her associate attorney, Terry S. Wheeler, along with the rest of their legal team, provide quality legal support and counsel to families throughout the Bay Area. Since opening their practice in 1992, they have earned a reputation for being consistently thorough, honest, understanding, and committed to their clients. They think mediation is often preferable to litigation in family law conflicts, and they welcome high-conflict and multi-ethnic custody cases. Among her professional and community affiliations, Ms. Woods is a member of the Alameda County Family Law Association, the Alameda County Bar Association, and the Women Lawyers of Alameda County.