Tennessee Family Law Practice for Paralegals Seminar
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
L. Reid
Performing conflicts checks
Assisting with initial client interview
Preparing engagement letter, opening file
Collecting information
Preparing Pleadings and Assisting with Motion Practice
M. Williams
Preparing initial pleadings
Requesting temporary relief
Preparing for the temporary orders hearing
Preparing the temporary orders
Obtaining and Evaluating Financial Information
C. Panther
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 and creating effective reporting tools
Working with accountants and financial experts
Preparing financial statements
Assisting with Child Custody and Visitation Issues
A. Walsh
Current status of custody law in Tennessee
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
Working With Divorce Clients and Opposing Counsel
J. Cassell
Establishing and maintaining good communication with clients
• Methods of communication and contents of communications
• Guidelines for responding to client communications
Working with difficult clients
Working with the courts and opposing counsel
Maintaining professionalism
Capturing your time for billing
Dealing with cultural or linguistic barriers to communication
Boundaries for opposing counsel and clients
Assisting with Alternative Dispute Resolution
C. Panther
Assisting in family law mediation
• Early stage mediation
• Co-mediation
• Mediation statements
• Preparing the client
Assisting in the collaborative divorce process
• TN Supreme Court Rule 53 requirements
• Screening clients for process
• Information gathering and reporting
Differences in mediation and collaborative processes
Credits
This seminar offers all
paralegals 6.5 CLE hours
NALA Approved
NFPA Approved
Continuing Education Credit Information
This seminar is open to all paralegals and offers 6.5 CLE hours to paralegals. Certification is not required to attend this event.
The National Association of Legal Assistants and the National Federation of Paralegal Associations have each approved this course for 6.5 CLE hours, including no ethics hours.
Please visit www.halfmoonseminars.org for current NALA and NFPA course approval information under this seminar listing.
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
Jane Cassell
The Cassell Law FirmJane Ellen Cassell is an attorney at The Cassell Law Firm. Her primary focus is on immigration law, and family and divorce litigation. Drawing on her experience in navigating complex immigration matters including deportation and removal proceedings, visas, humanitarian petitions, and waivers of admissibility, Ms. Cassell is an advocate for the immigrant community. She is also an assertive and passionate family law attorney who helps her clients through difficult divorce, child support, custody, and adoption matters with a deliberate aim to achieve the best results for their families. Ms. Cassell is licensed in the state of Tennessee and has also been admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court of Middle Tennessee and the Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR). She is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), Belmont University American Inns of Court, the American Bar Association, and Lawyer’s Association for Women: Marion Griffin Chapter.
Cheryl Panther
Cheryl Panther is a certified public accountant, Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 31 Listed family mediator, and president/founder of Panther Financial Planning, LLC, a registered investment adviser (Tennessee). She provides creative, outside-the-box analytical skills to the often complex, confusing, and ever-changing financial and taxation issues in divorce cases and settlements. She executes a variety of specialized divorce financial services for clients and attorneys, including education and support as a neutral financial and tax professional in collaborative divorce, divorce mediation, and consulting and testifying in traditional divorce cases. Ms. Panther has presented a variety of training programs for collaborative divorce, mediation, and financial and taxation topics. She serves her practice group, the Middle Tennessee Collaborative Alliance, as president, is a member of the training faculty for the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (IACP) and serves on several education committees for IACP. She also offers training for collaborative divorce practitioners through the Institute for Family Conflict Resolution, of which she is a principal member.
Lori Thomas
Reid Family LawLori Thomas Reid is an attorney at Reid Family Law. She is a 1985 graduate of the University of Mississippi School of Law. Ms. Reid has practiced family law for nearly 30 years, including working as a IV-D attorney in the 21st Judicial District of Tennessee from 1994 until 2004. She opened Reid Family Law in 2017, where she focuses her practice on prenuptial agreements, divorce, post-divorce, child support, custody, adoption, grandparent’s rights, and juvenile court cases. She is a Rule 31 Listed Mediator. In January of 2020, Ms. Reid was appointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court to the Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission for a two-year term. She received the Professionalism Award from the Williamson County Bar Association in 2010.
Aaron Walsh
WalshLaw, LLCAaron G. Walsh is an attorney at WalshLaw, LLC. He received his law degree in 2003 from the University of South Carolina. While there, he clerked for a local law firm and worked on the student staff of the ABA Real Property, Probate, and Trust Journal. After graduation, Mr. Walsh spent time working in a law firm and as an assistant public defender before settling into private, solo, practice in 2007. His primary focus is family and domestic law, though he continues to defend criminal cases at all levels. Mr. Walsh is admitted to practice in South Carolina and Tennessee.
Megan Williams
International Domestic LitigationMegan Williams is a senior litigation attorney with the International Domestic Litigation firm of Cordell and Cordell, PC. She opened the Nashville, Tennessee, location and currently works in the Nashville office serving North Nashville family law clients. She earned her bachelor of arts degree in Political Science from DePaul University and her juris doctorate degree from Florida Coastal School of Law in 2011. In 2015, she was named as the Top Regional Performer with her firm. In 2016, she was named to the National Advocates Top 40 Under 40 list. Ms. Williams is a member of the Nashville Bar Association, the Tennessee Bar Association, and the Junior League Advocacy Committee, and she is a Board Member with CASA. In her free time, she loves to travel and spend quality time with her teacup yorkie named Benji.