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Family Law Section fosters bench-to-bar communication
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: May 15, 2015
From new court procedures to the growing prevalence of domestic violence matters, family law is changing. The Akron Bar Association’s Family Law Section gives members the chance to hear about many of the updates from the mouths of the judges themselves during monthly meetings designed to open the channels of communication between the bench and the bar.
“We offer a convenient monthly CLE (continuing legal education) luncheon on the first Tuesday of each month so attorneys do not have to take the whole day off,” said Summit County Domestic Relations Court Magistrate Ronald Cable Jr., who serves as chair of the Family Law Section. “At the end of the year, the credits add up and members will nearly have their Ohio Supreme Court requirement met.
“Oftentimes, the judges and magistrates of the Summit County Domestic Relations Court and local attorneys speak at the monthly luncheon about developments in the law. We also have presentations at the luncheon from other disciplines such as finance, medicine and social work.”
“We have a very good relationship with the bar not only here in Summit County, but in the outlying counties as well,” said John Dohner, secretary/treasurer of the Family Law Section. “We find that the judges and magistrates are always willing to speak at our meetings and answer any questions our members might have.”
Dohner, a certified specialist in Family Relations Law who runs The Dohner Law Firm in Akron, has been a member of the Family Law Section for over 25 years, serving as chair from 1991 to 1992.
“When I began practicing I thought I wanted to practice family law but I wasn’t sure so I attended some of the meetings to learn more and immerse myself in the area,” said Dohner.
He said the section has always been very active, offering many networking opportunities and attracting members at various stages of their careers, including an occasional law student or paralegal.
“We welcome everyone, even attorneys whose main focus is not family law,” said Cable. “I think the section is particularly valuable for new attorneys who handle family law because they will have the chance to be in the same room with experienced lawyers who practice in the area.”
In addition to monthly meetings, each November the section holds the Bernard I. Rosen Domestic Relations Institute seminar. “It is one of the most well attended events at the bar association and it is an excellent opportunity to network,” said Cable.
“The Family Law Committee transitioned to the Family Law Section between 1985 and1988,” said Akron Bar Association Coordinator of Member Engagement Thomas Christos Petropoulos.
He said there are 116 members, making it “one of the larger sections in the bar association.
“We have noted an increased number of emerging members participating in the section,” said Petropoulos. “Currently about 20 members fall into the emerging category.”
Among them, Rebecca M. Black, who graduated from The University of Akron School of Law in 2012 and is now an associate at Akron-based Melissa Graham-Hurd & Associates.
“When I was in law school, I never dreamed I would be doing family law, but I absolutely love it,” said Black. “I started showing up at the Family Law Section meetings regularly in 2013. The meetings are very well attended and they have great CLEs.
“The CLEs include domestic relations magistrates and judges and I think it is fantastic that they make the time to speak with us,” Black said.
“Even if an attorney only does family law part of the time, I recommend they show up if for no other reason than to figure out who to call to answer questions.”
In addition to having members of the bench attend and speak at the meetings, Section Vice-Chair Wendy Creveling said the executive committee usually includes at least one person from the court.
“Right now Magistrate Cable is our chair,” said Creveling, a partner at Creveling & Creveling in Fairlawn, who first joined the bar association in 1995. “Having a member of the executive committee be a member of the bench provides a direct pipeline to the courts that allows us to express our concerns quickly. It also helps to ensure that members are kept abreast of the latest changes.”
A native of Oldham, England, Creveling holds law degrees from the University of Wolverhampton and The University of Akron School of Law. “I joined the bar to get to know other lawyers and form a camaraderie. In our area, we often see the same lawyers day in and day out and it’s nice to see them in a social context so we can get to know one another.”
Magistrate Cable said child custody is one of the areas where practitioners are grappling with a lot of rule changes, including those involving Ex Parte Custody Orders.
“The court is in the process of amending Local Rule 2.10 for emergency custody orders based on one party’s affidavit alone,” he said. “In the past a litigant could submit an affidavit for an emergency change in the temporary legal custody of a child. Now this is only permitted in narrow circumstances due to an increasing problem with the veracity of many affidavits. Litigants will now have the option of reporting their concerns to their local children’s services agency or law enforcement.”
Cable said the court has seen a rise in civil domestic violence cases over the past few years.
“This could be due to increased awareness among victims of domestic violence.
“We also see many cases that involve unmarried parents and third-party relatives who file for custody of a related child. These filings can be complicated when jurisdiction is an issue or when there are issues present that hinder one’s ability to parent, such as a drug addiction or a mental illness,” Cable said.
“We could be on the verge of dealing with same sex marriage, which will obviously increase our caseload.”
Dohner said some other issues are discussed informally like the recent case in New York where Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Matthew Cooper agreed to let a woman serve her husband with divorce papers using Facebook after not being able to do so for several years via traditional means.
“Summit County allows divorce papers to be served by Federal Express,” said Dohner. “A person is more likely to open the door for a FedEx package than signing for certified mail or being served in person.
“Perhaps social media is the way people will be served in the future. The law is evolving and that leads to interesting discussions at our meetings,” Dohner said.