Illinois Family Law Practice for Paralegals
DISCLAIMER
Before undertaking any on-demand effort, you should review the rules of your licensing/certifying entity. It’s your responsibility to determine whether or not this on-demand course meets your continuing education requirements.
You must take and pass a quiz in order to receive credit. You can take the quiz as many times as needed and there is no time limit on the quiz. Once the quiz is completed, you will be asked to download your certificate.
Videos that qualify for AIA, LACES, ASLA, or CLARB credit will require an extra week for processing.
Streamable MP4/PDF
Available approximately 1 week after the date of the live event or the date of your order, whichever is later.
To track your purchase you will need to create an account on the website using the email address used for your registration.
For most customers, the videos run like most streaming videos on the web. For videos that qualify for AIA credit there will be occasional question prompts that will not allow the video to progress unless they are answered and you will not be able to skip forward while watching the video.
If you attempt to resume watching the video on a separate device, your progress will not be saved.
Click the link which appears at the end of the video to be taken to the course quiz.
USB MP4/PDF
HalfMoon will mail these materials via USPS. Please allow 2 weeks from the date of purchase to receive your product. If the live seminar is in the future, please allow 2 weeks from the date of the live seminar.
The link to the quiz will be available in a PDF in your USB drive marked QUIZ.
HalfMoon will contact you and issue a full refund if the product you ordered is not available. However, refunds will not be issued if completion certificates are requested.
Please contact HalfMoon Education if you have any questions during the process of taking this course. (715) 835-5900 or qchapman@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.
Log into Webinar
8:00 – 8:30 am CDT
Morning Session
8:30 am – 12:00 pm CDT
Break
12:00 – 12:30 pm CDT
Afternoon Session
12:30 – 4:00 pm CDT
Assisting with Family Law Case Intake A. Hoch
Performing conflicts checks
Assisting with initial client interview
Preparing engagement letter, opening file
Collecting information
Working With Divorce Clients and Opposing Counsel M. Gordon
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
Obtaining and Evaluating Financial Information A. Syed
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 S. Tang
Recent developments in Illinois custody law
Obtaining relevant information
• Client interview, custody questionnaires, authorizations for disclosure,
formal discovery
Working with guardian-ad-litem
Working with experts
Drafting and reviewing parenting plans
Recent Developments in Illinois Family Law L. Setzen
Legislative update
Case law update
Current issues in family law
Handling Ethical Issues in Family Law Practice L. Setzen
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
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
This webinar offers paralegals
6.0 CLE hours, including 1.0 ethics hour,
that have been approved by NALA (see below for details)
with NFPA approval pending.
Continuing Education Credit Information
This webinar is open to the public and offers 6.0 CLE hours, including 1.0 ethics hour, to paralegals. The National Association of Legal Assistants has approved this course for 4.5 substantive, 1.0 non-substantive and 1.0 ethics hour. Paralegal certification is not required to participate in this webinar.
HalfMoon Education has applied to the National Federation of Paralegal Associations for course approval, which is pending.
Completion certificates will be awarded to participants who complete this event, respond to prompts, and earn a passing score (80%) on the quiz that follows the presentation (multiple attempts allowed).
Speakers
Mitchell Gordon
Attorney at Bradford & Gordon, LLC, in ChicagoMr. Gordon works exclusively in the area of family law. He has significant experience dealing with both parenting-related and financial litigation. Mr. Gordon has expertise conducting settlement conferences, drafting marital settlement agreements, parenting agreements, and pre-and post-nuptial agreements. In 2012, Mitchell’s book, Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements, was published by the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education (IICLE) and is their most comprehensive authority on the drafting and enforcement of pre and postnuptial agreements.
Amber Hoch
Schlesinger & Strauss, LLC
Office manager and paralegal, Ms. Hoch, graduated from the College of Lake County in May 2017 with High Honors from an American Bar Association approved program in Paralegal Studies with an Associate of Applied Science degree. Ms. Hoch is recognized as a CORE Registered Paralegal by the National Federation of Paralegal Assocations. She is a former employee of the Office of the Circuit Clerk of Lake County having worked in the child support, civil and small claims divisions.
Leah D. Setzen
Partner at Grunyk Family Law
Ms. Setzen’s practice focuses exclusively in family law matters, including custody, divorce, adoptions, civil unions, guardianships, mediation and appeals in DuPage, Will, Kane, Kendall and Cook counties. Throughout her career, Ms. Setzen has gained extensive civil and criminal trial experience and has tried more than 100 jury and bench trials. She also educates other family lawyers and members of the community by serving as a presenter to local advocacy and support groups, bar associations, professional organizations and law students.
Ameena Syed
Katz & Stefani, LLC
Ms. Syed is an associate at Katz & Stefani, LLC, a Chicago-based law firm practicing exclusively in the area of complex and high net-worth matrimonial and family law-related matters. Specifically, she represents clients in divorce, parentage, pre- and post-nuptial agreements, child custody, visitation, support, property division, and post-dissolution matters. Ms. Syed is admitted to practice in Illinois, and she is a member of the Chicago South Asian Bar Association, the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois, the American Bar Association, the Illinois State Bar Association, and the Chicago Bar Association. She is actively involved in mentoring first-generation law students through the Chicago Bar Association Young Lawyers Society Law Student Career Immersion Mentoring Program. Ms. Syed received her Juris Doctor degree from DePaul University College of Law, during which time she externed with the Honorable Mark J. Lopez in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Domestic Relations Division.
Stephanie L. Tang
Kogut & Wilson, LLC
As a partner in the firm, Ms. Tang represents individuals in all aspects of family and matrimonial law proceedings. She strives to provide personalized attention to all of her clients and walk them through each step of the litigation or settlement process. Her effective communication and organizational skills help clients feel comfortable and prepared through one of the most stressful times of their lives. As a certified mediator and Fellow with Collaborative Divorce Illinois, Ms. Tang is able to offer clients alternative processes to resolve their divorce outside of the courtroom. She is also a Certified Financial Litigator with the American Academy for Certified Financial Litigators, uniquely positioning herself to assist clients with complex financial issues.