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. Wilgis

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

Preparing Pleadings and Assisting with Motion Practice 
L. Wilgis

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

Obtaining and Evaluating Financial Information 
T. DeVallance, K. Kasin

   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

Working With Divorce Clients and Opposing Counsel 
D. Sydney

   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

Assisting with Alternative Dispute Resolution 
B. Tollefson

   Assisting in family law mediation
   Understanding and assisting in parenting plan mediation
   Assisting in the child support arbitration and mediation

Handling Ethical Issues in Family Law Practice 
R. Rolfe

   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

Paralegals
     6.5 Washington CLE Hours (1.0 Ethics)
     6.5 NFPA CLE Hours (1.0 Ethics)
     6.5 NALA CLE Hours (1.0 Ethics)

Washington LLLTs
     6.5 WSBA CLE Hours (1.0 Ethics)

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.

Courses approved by the NFPA qualify for Washington paralegals.

The Washington State Bar Association has approved this course for 6.5 CLE hours, including 1.0 ethics hour, for LLLTs.

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

Todd DeVallance

Tsai Law Company, PLLC

Tsai Law Company, PLLC
Mr. DeVallance is the managing partner with Tsai Law Company, PLLC. He focuses his practice on complex family law matters, which include high asset dissolutions; cases involving business owners, partners, and shareholders; division of restricted stock units and tax deferred accounts; drafting of prenuptial and postnuptial agreements; and mediating family law matters. He is a frequent speaker at CLEs and seminars on the topic of tax consequences associated with divorce. Mr. DeVallance has appeared on The Today Show, Fox News Fox & Friends, ABC News, and Anderson Cooper, and he has provided legal analysis on national high-profile cases. He is licensed to practice before the United States Tax Court and the United States Supreme Court. Mr. DeVallance earned his B.S. degree, magna cum laude, from Chaminade University, his J.D. degree from Gonzaga University School of Law, and his LL.M. degree in Taxation from the University of Washington School of Law.

Kimberly Kasin

Tsai Law Company, PLLC

Tsai Law Company, PLLC
Ms. Kasin is a senior associate attorney with Tsai Law Company, PLLC. Ms. Kasin dedicates her practice to family law, primarily in the areas of dissolution, child custody and support matters, and collaborative law. She has been recognized by her peers and was named a “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers. Ms. Kasin is a King County Neighborhood Clinic volunteer attorney where she provides consultations for individuals who are in need of family law legal services. Ms. Kasin formally served on the Board of Directors of Youth Eastside Services. She earned her B.A. degree in Business Finance from the University of Washington, and she earned her J.D. degree from Seattle University School of Law.

Linda Mason Wilgis

Meridian Family Law, PLLC

Ms. Wilgis is a passionate advocate for her clients, representing children and families for over 25 years as an attorney in private practice, as a former Assistant Attorney General, and as a family and children’s Ombudsman for the State of Washington. Ms. Wilgis is committed to helping clients navigate difficult transitions in their lives through compassionate advice and skilled advocacy, both through negotiation and litigation. 

 

Rhea J. Rolfe

Rhea Rolfe Gilson-Moreau & Associates, P.S.
Ms. Rhea J. Rolfe has been practicing law for over 35 years, primarily as a private solo practitioner. She has taught college-level law-related courses, including Women and the Law, Business Law, and Women of Color in America, and she has been a featured speaker for continuing legal education seminars. She has been an investigator for human rights agencies, and the Washington State Bar Association. Ms. Rolfe has been an arbitrator, mediator, and guardian ad litem for the courts, and a hearing examiner for the City of Seattle Civil Service Commission. She currently focuses her practice on family law, with a specialty in interstate and international custody and abduction issues (UCCJEA and Hague Convention). Ms. Rolfe was an editor for the WSBA Family Law Deskbook, and is on the YWCA Pathways for Women Displaced Homemakers’ Advisory Board, Operation Lookout Advisory Board, and the Washington Blues Society Board of Directors.

Dawn Sydney

Dawn Sydney, PLLC

Law Offices of Dawn Sydney, PLLC
Ms. Sydney received her law degree from Washington University School of Law (St. Louis) in 1991. She has been licensed to practice law in the state of Washington since 2011. She was first introduced to Washington State family law as a paralegal with Skellenger Bender. Ms. Sydney started her own firm in September 2017. Prior to opening the Law Offices of Dawn Sydney, PLLC, Ms. Sydney was a family law attorney with Bucklin Evens, PLLC, on Mercer Island and the Law Offices of Michael W. Bugni & Associates in Seattle.

Brian Tollefson

Black Robe Dispute Resolution Services, PLLC

Mr. Tollefson is a principal at Black Robe Dispute Resolution Services, PLLC. He also serves as a pro-tem judge for Pierce County Superior Court. Previously, he served as a judge for Pierce County Superior Court for more than 27 years. During his time on Superior Court, he was on the Executive Committee, served as presiding judge, and participated on a number of local Superior Court committees. He served on several committees in the Washington State Superior Court Judges Association and as a trustee on the Association’s board of trustees for five years.

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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.

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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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