Agenda

Registration:                        8:00 – 8:30 am

Morning Session:                8:30 am – 12:00 pm

Lunch (On your own):         12:00 – 1:00 pm

Afternoon Session:             1:00 – 4:30 pm

Assisting with Family Law Case Intake 
R. Creel

    Performing conflicts checks 
   Assisting with initial client interview
   Preparing engagement letter, opening file
   Collecting information

Preparing Pleadings and Assisting with Motion Practice 
J. Howard III

   Preparing initial pleadings 
   Requesting temporary relief
   Preparing for the temporary orders hearing
   Preparing the temporary orders

Obtaining and Evaluating Financial Information 
C. Warner

   Identifying relevant information on assets, debts, income and expenses
   Obtaining financial information
      • Using financial information questionnaires
      • Using interrogatories, requests for production, deposition testimony,
        private investigators
      • Valuing assets
   Evaluating the information you have obtained
   Working with accountants and financial experts
   Preparing financial statements

Assisting with Child Custody and Visitation Issues 
D. Butcher

   Current status of custody law in South Carolina
   Obtaining relevant information
      • Client interview, custody questionnaires, authorizations for disclosure, 
        using formal discovery
   Working with guardian-ad-litem 
   Working with experts
   Drafting and reviewing parenting plans

Enforcing and Modifying Family Law Orders and Decrees 
S. Hawkins

   Implementing divorce decrees and orders
      • Preparing and filing the decree 
      • Preparing other necessary documents
      • Enforcing judgments and orders
   Modifying decrees and orders
      • Determining which parts of a decree or order are subject to modification, 
        deciding when to seek modification
   Assisting in modification actions

Handling Ethical Issues in Family Law Practice 
R. McLean

   Complying with rules of professional responsibility and ethics guidelines 
      for attorneys and paralegals
   Avoiding conflicts of interest 
   Maintaining client confidentiality

Credits

This seminar offers paralegals
6.5 CLE hours, including 1.0 ethics hour

NALA Approved
NFPA Approved

Continuing Education Credit Information

This seminar is open to the public and offers 6.5 CLE hours, including 1.0 ethics hour, to paralegals.

The National Association of Legal Assistants and the National Federation of Paralegal Associations have each approved this event.

Attendance will be monitored, and attendance certificates will be available after the seminar for most individuals who complete the entire event. Attendance certificates not available at the seminar will be mailed to participants within fifteen business days.

Speakers

Deborah Butcher

Camden Law Firm, P.A.

Deborah J. Butcher is a founding attorney of the Camden Law Firm, P.A. Mrs. Butcher has been in private practice since 2007 and has extensive experience with both criminal, family, and civil practice. Her family law practice includes separation, divorce, alimony, custody, and visitation, child support, in-and out-of-state adoptions, paternity, state jurisdiction, and orders of protection. Mrs. Butcher has worked with Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities, providing representation to defend individuals’ civil rights under the ADA. She has also worked under a grant from the United States Department of Justice to provide representation for domestic abuse victims.

Rebecca Creel

Creel Family Law, LLC

Rebecca Creel is the founder of Creel Family Law, LLC. She is a native of Hemingway, South Carolina, and an alumnae of Converse College. She received her J.D. degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 2007. She is also a graduate of the Houston Family Law Trial Institute. She limits her practice exclusively to complex marital and other domestic litigation. She is a certified family court mediator and guardian ad litem. Ms. Creel has been named as a member the Columbia Business Monthly Legal Elite of the Midlands in the area of family law for the last six consecutive years and was honored in 2015 by South Carolina Supreme Court’s Commission on the Profession as the G. Dewey Oxner Jr., Mentor of the Year. She has been selected to teach and speak at the South Carolina Bar convention, the Family Court Bench/Bar, Family Law Essentials, and the SCAJ Annual Convention. Ms. Creel has also assisted in drafting publications such as the Ask-A-Lawyer Reference Manual and Law School for Non-Lawyers on family law issues. She serves on the editorial board of the 5th Edition of Marital Litigation in South Carolina.

Suzanne Hawkins

Hawkins Law

Suzanne L. Hawkins is the owner of Hawkins Law, where she practices in the fields of family law, LLR defense, and custody and special needs. Her family law practice includes: separation, divorce, custody, visitation, DSS cases, modification of custody and visitation orders, and enforcement of prior orders. Over more than 22 years of practice, Ms. Hawkins had worked across South Carolina and has tried cases, argued motions, and handled appeals in courts ranging from the Administrative Law Court to the Federal District Court. She is also special counsel at Duff Freeman Lyon, LLC.

John Howard

John W. Howard III is a sole practitioner who has been an attorney for over 45 years. He focuses his practice in the areas of domestic litigation, domestic mediation and arbitration and residential real estate matters. Mr. Howard is admitted to the United States Supreme Court, the South Carolina Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces and the United States Court of Appeals. He is also certified as a family court mediator and circuit court arbitrator. Mr. Howard earned his J.D. degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law.

Robin McLean

McCutchen McLean, LLC

Robin R. McLean is a member at McCutchen McLean, LLC. She has practiced law in many areas including domestic and family law (separation, divorce, child custody, visitation and child support, spousal support, property division, adult and minor names changes), employment and discrimination matters, workers’ compensation, estate planning, probate, and personal injury matters. Although she continues to practice in these areas, the majority of her current cases involve family law. Ms. McLean earned a bachelor of science degree, cum laude, from Georgia State University and a J.D. degree from Georgia State University College of Law. She has been certified by the South Carolina Supreme Court as a mediator in family and probate law.

Carrie Warner

Carrie Warner, Attorney at Law, is known for her ability to successfully litigate complex cases. She was part of the legal team that made history in 2014 when their clients prevailed on their challenge to South Carolina’s ban on same-sex marriage, with the ultimate decision made by the U.S. District Court. Ms. Warner brings considerable experience in the family, probate, civil and appellate court systems. She is regularly featured in statewide publications, at conferences, and in the news media. She also serves as a volunteer for the American Bar Association’s legal services program for U.S. Military service members.

CD/Manual Price: $299.00

Currently, our self-study products DO NOT qualify for AIA, LACES, ASLA or CLARB credit.

HalfMoon will mail you these materials via USPS. Please allow 5 weeks from the date of purchase to receive your product. If the live seminar is in the future, please allow 5 weeks from the date of the live seminar.

The CD/Manual package includes an audio recording of a live seminar on CDs, along with a bound copy of the manual that was distributed at the seminar. The manual contains written materials prepared by the seminar speaker(s).

The CDs contain embedded number codes, which you are required to document and return to HalfMoon if you wish to obtain a certificate of completion for the program. The acceptance of self-administered continuing education activities vary widely between states and professions. Before undertaking any self-study effort, you should review the rules of your licensing/certifying entity.

HalfMoon Education guarantees its products. The self-study products are recorded from a live seminar and there are circumstances where an audio recording is not available. HalfMoon will contact you and issue a full refund if the product you ordered is not available. If you are not happy with a product you receive, you can return the product for a full refund. However, refunds will not be issued if completion certificates are requested.

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