Agenda

Webinar instructions will be emailed before the date of the webinar.

Please log into the webinar 15 – 30 minutes before start time.

Thursday, March 2, 2023
8:30 am – 4:00 pm EST (including a 30-min. break)

Presented by:
Ashley-Nicole Russell, Founder of The Law Offices of Ashley-Nicole Russell, P. A .
Brian King, Managing Partner at King Law
Carrie L. Lehmann, Attorney at Sodoma Law
Penelope L. Hefner Partner at Sodoma Law
Leigh Anne Williams, Attorney at the Olsinski Law Firm, PLLC
Theresa E. Viera, Founder of Modern Legal

 

Handling Ethical Issues in Family Law Practice
– A. Russell 

  • 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

Obtaining and Evaluating Financial Information
– B. King 

  • Identifying relevant information on assets, debts, income and expenses
  • Obtaining financial information
  • Evaluating the information you have obtained
  • Working with accountants and financial experts
  • Preparing financial statements

Assisting with Child Custody and Visitation Issues
– C. Lehman

  • Recent developments in North Carolina custody law
  • Obtaining relevant information
  • Working with guardian-ad-litem
  • Working with experts
  • Drafting and reviewing parenting plans

Assisting with Alternative Dispute Resolution
– P. Hefner 

  • Assisting in family law mediation
  • Understanding and assisting in divorce arbitration
  • Assisting in the collaborative divorce process

Initiating, Enforcing, and Modifying Family Law Orders
– L. Williams

  • Absolute divorce and attached actions
  • Custody orders
  • Child support orders
  • Enforcing child custody and child support judgments
  • Modifying child custody and child support orders

Assisting in the Litigation Process from Start to Finish
– T. Viera

  • Preparing initial pleadings
  • Filing initial pleadings, summons, and servicemembers affidavit
  • Service of process deadlines
  • Service of process by a private process server/private investigator
  • When an acceptance of service or an affidavit of service is applicable
  • Certificates of service – who to include and when to file (including with any final orders)
  • Deadlines for financial affidavits and equitable distribution affidavits
  • Important topics for child custody matters – parent education and court-ordered custody mediation
  • Alternative dispute resolution in equitable distribution matters
  • Dealing with experts and expert report deadlines
  • Final trial preparation considerations

 

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

Paralegals:
6.5 CLE Hours (Including 1.0 Ethics Hour)

NALA:
6.5 CLE Hours (Including 1.0 Ethics Hour)

NFPA:
6.5 CLE Hours (Including 1.0 Ethics Hour)

North Carolina State Bar:
Pending

 

Continuing Education Credit Information

This webinar is open to the public and offers 6.5 CLE hours to paralegals. Paralegal certification is not required to participate in this webinar. 

 This course has been approved by the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA) for 6.5 CLE hours, which includes 5.5 substantive CLE hours and 1.0 legal ethics CLE hour. 

 This course has been submitted to the North Carolina State Bar Board of Paralegal Certification for accreditation, which is currently pending 

 This course has been approved by the National Federation of Paralegal Associations (NFPA) for 6.5 total CLE credits, which includes 5.5 general CLE credits and 1.0 ethics CLE credits. 

 Visit this course listing at www.halfmoonseminars.org for updates on pending credits. Completion certificates will be awarded to participants who complete this event and earn a passing score (80%) on the quiz that follows the presentation (multiple attempts allowed). 

 

Speakers

Penelope L. Hefner

Sodoma Law

Penelope L. Hefner is the Principal and Managing Attorney at Sodoma Law Union. She is a Certified North Carolina Family Financial Mediator and a Certified Collaborative Law Attorney. Ms. Hefner’s focus has been on family law since she first started practicing fifteen years ago.

She began her practice in Union County and then joined Sodoma Law in 2012 at the Charlotte office. After dividing her time between the two counties, Ms. Hefner identified a need to better serve her Union County clients and encouraged the rest of the leadership team at Sodoma Law to open an office in Monroe, North Carolina. Sodoma Law Union opened its doors in 2015. Ms. Hefner is the past president of the Union County Bar and is a member of the North Carolina, Mecklenburg County, and Union County Bars. Her charitable work includes active participation in the Union County Community Shelter as a board member, the Charlotte Rescue Mission as the chair of the ChariTEA fundraiser, and she works with several local organizations to offer pro bono hours among many other endeavors. Regularly recognized by Super Lawyers Magazine and Business North Carolina’s Legal Elite, Penelope has always been recognized as one of Charlotte’s 50 Most Influential Leaders and a Leader in the Law by Mecklenburg Times.

Brian King

Managing Partner at King Law

Brian King started King Law in 2002, in a two-room office above a bar. He had the vision to create a firm that was built around business principles and taking care of clients. It is under his leadership the firm has grown from a small community firm to one of the largest and fastest-growing firms in the Carolinas. Mr. King has always called Western North Carolina home and has always considered taking care of the community as a natural role of the small-town lawyer. As King Law has grown in location and numbers, that vision has never changed. Mr. King is a member of the North Carolina and South Carolina Bars, and in 2009 became a Family Law Specialist through the North Carolina Bar Board of Specialization. He has served as the attorney for the Rutherford County Department of Social Services, and the McDowell County Department of Social Services, been a member of the North Carolina Child Support Council. He is a sought-after and consistent speaker at various Continuing Legal Education events. He has spoken across the country at legal conferences and has a network of attorneys across the country that call on him for legal business advice. Mr. King is a proud father and understands the dynamics of family law as an attorney and as a client. He has been elected as President of the Judicial District Bar and has served in various legal leadership positions. Mr. King has been involved in several Court of Appeals cases, with important and often referenced opinions.

Carrie L. Lehmann

Attorney at Sodoma Law

Carrie L. Lehmann is an Attorney at Sodoma Law York. She is a licensed Family Law Mediator in both North and South Carolina and a Family Court Guardian Ad Litem in Union County, North Carolina and York County, South Carolina. While her focus has primarily been in the practice area of family law both as an attorney and as a Guardian Ad Litem, Ms. Lehmann also has experience in criminal law and traffic law, as well as estate planning and estate administration.

Ashley- Nicole Russell, Esq.

Founder of The Law Offices of Ashley-Nicole Russell, P.A

Ashley-Nicole Russell, Esq. is an experienced family law attorney, author, and speaker who is changing the way divorce is perceived around the world. She is widely-known as a dedicated, passionate, and trustworthy attorney with integrity. As a child of divorce and divorcee, she brings a unique, relatable, and personal understanding to AN|R Law Offices. With more than a decade of experience in Collaborative Law, Ashley-Nicole knows first-hand how this model benefits families during separation and divorce. Her North Carolina law practice is an award-winning firm with locations in Greenville, Raleigh, Beaufort, and Wilmington. She is the author of The Cure for Divorce Culture, hosts the podcast, Divorce, Healthy!, and serves as a board member with the National Parents Organization. As an expert in divorce culture, Ashley-Nicole has appeared on various multi-media platforms to discuss Collaborative Law, shared parenting solutions, conflict resolution in the workplace, and the future of divorce in America. She actively shares her mission nationwide and is committed to sharing information to help families navigate the emotional and legal aspects of separation and divorce.

Theresa E. Viera

Modern Legal Founder

Theresa E. Viera founded Modern Legal in 2020 amidst the pandemic and drastic changes to our judicial system. Her law firm is dedicated to helping individuals navigate the legal system by utilization of the law and current-day innovation. She conducted her undergraduate studies at George Washington University and obtained her law degree at the University of North Carolina School of Law. She has been practicing family law for over ten years and is a Certified Family Financial Mediator. She was named a Top 40 Young Lawyer by the American Bar Association in 2020, a North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Rising Start in 2021, and has received the designation of Super Lawyers Rising Star, Best Lawyer Ones to Watch, and Legal Elite by Business North Carolina.

Leigh Anne Williams

Attorney at Olsinski Law Firm, PLLC

Leigh Anne Williams has dedicated her career to making sure families are equipped with the knowledge and tools they need to adequately protect themselves and their loved ones, with over 20 years of experience working with families in a variety of high conflict situations. She works with the Olsinski Law Firm in Charlotte, North Carolina. Ms. Williams believes her role as an attorney is to educate clients and to make the law easier for them to understand. Her practice areas include “all things family.” Her practice style is to work hard to make sure her client’s rights and family are protected while turning towards litigation and the courts as a last resort. Leigh Anne is trained in the Collaborative Process and a member of Charlotte Collaborative Divorce Professionals, Mecklenburg and Cabarrus County Bar Associations.