Agenda

Registration:                        8:00 – 8:30 am

Morning Session:                8:30 am – 12:15 pm

Lunch (On your own):         12:15 – 1:15 pm

Afternoon Session:             1:15 – 4:30 pm

Assisting with Family Law Case Intake
R. Laborde, B. Jentsch

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

Preparing Pleadings and Assisting with Motion Practice
R. Laborde

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

Obtaining and Evaluating Financial Information
L. Sinitz

   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 Placement Issues
L. Sinitz

   Current status of custody law in Wisconsin
   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

Preparing Marital Settlement Agreements
N. Pasquale, B. Jentsch

   Assisting with different types of agreements
      Property agreements
      Child-related agreements
      Support agreements
      Keller agreements

Enforcing and Modifying Family Law Orders and Decrees
C. Kaplan

   Implementing divorce decrees and orders
      Preparing and filing the decree
      Preparing other necessary documents
      Enforcing judgments and orders
      Enforcing temporary orders
      Enforcing custody orders
      Enforcing support 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
C. Kaplan

   Complying with rules of professional responsibility and ethics guidelines for attorneys and paralegals
   Avoiding conflicts of interest
   Maintaining client confidentiality
   Avoiding the unauthorized practice of law
   Working with the secretive or dishonest client
   Handling allegations of abuse or neglect
   Zealous (vs. over-zealous) representation
   Fee agreements, retainers, and collection of unpaid fees

Credits

This seminar offers paralegals 6.5 CLE hours, including 1.0 ethics hour, that have been approved by the NALA and NFPA.

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 seminar.

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

Billie Jentsch

Billie Jo Jentsch is an experienced divorce and family law paralegal with Kaehne, Cottle, Pasquale & Associates, S.C. Ms. Jentsch graduated from Moraine Park Technical College with a Legal Secretary Associates Degree in 1993 and subsequently received the Registered Paralegal designation on June 26, 2000 from the National Federation of Paralegal Associations. She is one of only ten paralegals in the State of Wisconsin with this distinguished designation. With 25 years of experience in family law, Ms. Jentsch is passionate and knowledgeable about all divorce and family law matters including: paternity, child custody, physical placement of a minor child, child support, maintenance, absolute divorce, legal separation and post-judgment modifications.

Corinne Kaplan

Kaplan Law Firm, S.C.

Corinne Kaplan is president and shareholder of Kaplan Law Firm, S.C. Ms. Kaplan has been practicing law for 30 years. A graduate of Indiana University for both her undergraduate and graduate educations, she received an undergraduate degree in Political Science and a J.D degree with specialties in Taxation and Securities. Attorney Kaplan was admitted to the State Bar of Wisconsin in 1984. While an extremely skilled family law practitioner, she is also very well versed in real estate law, business and taxation law, personal injury law, and sport law. Before pioneering Kaplan Law Firm, S.C., Ms. Kaplan worked as an attorney at other firms, as an accountant and tax specialist for Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co., and as a consult and register representative for Kidder, Peabody & Co. Also, Attorney Kaplan worked as a mediator and arbitrator for Alternative Dispute Resolutions, Inc. Attorney Kaplan served as the 2010 president of the Ozaukee County Bar Association. She has been a frequent keynote speaker nationally, and she has been a presenter at continuing legal education seminars in business, tax, and family law areas. Besides law, Ms. Kaplan is passionate about her 28 year teaching career. She has been a professor at Cardinal Stritch University teaching a wide range of courses which allows her to remain current both in technology and in legal issues.

Rachel Laborde

Kaehne, Cottle, Pasquale & Associates, S.C.

Rachel R. Laborde is an attorney with Kaehne, Cottle, Pasquale & Associates, S.C. in the Sheboygan office. A certified collaborative family law lawyer, she obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish Language, Literature and Culture from Marquette University and subsequently earned her Juris Doctor degree from Marquette University Law School. Ms. Laborde has been practicing family law in the Sheboygan area for the last four years and presently sits on the Leadership Development Committee and Mentorship Committee for the Wisconsin State Bar. Attorney Laborde is also on the Board of Directors, as the treasurer, for Lakeshore Community Health Care. She is passionate about providing comprehensive, aggressive and compassionate legal services for individuals navigating the nuances of the family court system.

Nicholas Pasquale

Kaehne, Cottle, Pasquale & Associates, S.C.

Nicholas J.B. Pasquale is a senior partner at Kaehne, Cottle, Pasquale & Associates, S.C., a full service law firm with offices in Sheboygan, Neenah, Appleton, and Green Bay. Mr. Pasquale specializes in family law and debt relief law, including Chapters 7 and 13 under the Federal Bankruptcy Code and Voluntary Amortization of Debt Actions. Mr. Pasquale is a frequent CLE presenter to judges and attorneys around the State on how bankruptcy can impact family law judgments.

Linda Sinitz

Ratzel Pytlik & Pezze, LLC

Linda M. Sinitz is an attorney with Ratzel Pytlik & Pezze, LLC. Ms. Sinitz attended Marquette University Law School and upon graduation in 1985, she joined a litigation firm in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She then operated her own practice for 15 years before joining Ratzel, Pytlik & Pezze, LLC. She has extensive trial experience, with concentrations in family law and insurance litigation. Ms. Sinitz has over 30 years of experience in the practice of law. She now focuses her practice in family law, and represents both men and women in divorce and paternity related issues in courts throughout the State of Wisconsin. Ms. Sinitz has met the state requirements to be, and is, a family mediator. She also is frequently appointed by judges to represent the best interests of children and incompetent adults in contested custody and placement cases.