|
Your Young Lawyers Section
received the highest award for a public service project
at the American Bar Association Annual meeting convened
in Atlanta in early August. Over 60 different projects
from across the nation received recognition as winners
in their respective categories that were divided according
to the size of the young lawyers group sponsoring
the project. These winners were collectively announced
through a four-page listing of award recipients at
the ABA Annual Meeting. Only one award was announced
from the podium, that of the Most Outstanding Public
Service Project, which was awarded to the Arkansas
YLS.
The Award came to Arkansas
because of the outstanding and heartfelt work put
into the Parent Wars Project. For those of you not
familiar with the project, it consists of about a
half-hour video and a handbook that demonstrates the
adverse impact that arguing parents can have on their
children while going through a divorce or custody
dispute. The video has several vignettes with actors
demonstrating negative parental behavior, interviews
with children's psychology experts, and discussions
with lawyers and judges talking about the legal consequences
of parent's behavior.
Marcia Barnes, former
chair of the Family Law Section, wrote, produced,
and edited the Parent Wars video. While Marcia had
the assistance of other members of the Family Law
Section, make no mistake, the idea and video were
her brainchild. As a lawyer that regularly practices
in the area of domestic relations, Marcia saw the
need for the Parent Wars video and actually took the
action to get the project to the public. Marcia came
to the YLS in the summer of 2003 and asked us to invest
the manpower to get the video mass-produced and distributed
throughout the state. The YLS accepted the challenge
after seeing only a few minutes of the poignant video.
Michelle Cauley, the
current secretary/treasurer of the YLS, stepped forward
and agreed to draft a handbook to accompany the Parent
Wars video. The handbook tracks the subjects addressed
in the video and provides a listing of professional
resources available to divorcing parents and the children
involved. Michelle's hard work in getting the handbook
drafted and printed should be commended.
In addition, the funding
and distribution of the Parent Wars Project has been
assisted in large part by the Arkansas Administrative
Office of the Courts. The AOC has distributed a copy
of the video to all the circuit court judges in the
State of Arkansas and has provided much-needed funding
for the continued printing of the video (now available
in both VHS and DVD formats) and the handbook. The
YLS is appreciative of the contributions of one of
its own members, Jennifer Jones Taylor, at the AOC.
As you can see, the
Parent Wars Project has been a collaboration amongst
many, with the hard work and dedication of a few being
crucial. The list of those making the Project possible
grows longer when the funding sources are recognized,
those being: the Arkansas IOLTA Foundation; the Arkansas
Bar Foundation; the Arkansas Administrative Offices
of the Court; the American Bar Association, Young
Lawyers Division; Arkansas Administrative Dispute
Resolution Commission; the Family Law Section; and
the YLS.
Being named as the Most
Outstanding Public Service Project in the nation carries
with it much-appreciated recognition from the American
Bar Endowment and the American Bar Association as
well as a nice plaque that is on display at the Bar
Center. The YLS was surprised and pleased to bring
this award home from Atlanta. But, the real winners
because of the Parent Wars Project are the Arkansas
practitioners who have a client combating with a spouse,
the Arkansas judiciary who must deal with quarrelling
parents who seek the court's intervention as a result
of each fight, and most importantly, Arkansas' youth
and children who are scared and scarred due to the
emotional abuse they are subjected to when their parents
use them as pawns in their marital and custody disputes.
The value of the Project can only be realized if it
is put into use. Please contact the Arkansas Bar Association
if you would like to put this tool to use in your
practice or courtroom.
Bridging the Gap, November 4-6, 2004
The YLS again planned
the Bridging the Gap CLE seminar, scheduled for Thursday,
November 4, through Saturday, November 6, 2004. A
total of 16.25 hours of CLE credit with an excellent
slate of speakers was offered at a reduced price of
$35 to those admitted to practice after January 1,
2003. Of course, all were invited to attend the seminar.
Patrick Wilson and Derrick Smith deserve recognition
for their hard work in organizing this three-day seminar.
40 Hours for the Future
Many of you have already
pledged to meet the challenge issued by the YLS to
perform at least 40 hours of community or charitable
service over the course of this Bar year. We hope
that more join in the effort. Whatever service you
want to take part in will be recognized, but the YLS
has organized some work days on projects in Central
Arkansas that we wanted to let you know about, those
being:
Habitat for Humanity,
in the Barrow Road area of Little Rock on November
13, 2004, starting at 9:00 a.m.. Please contact Katina
"Kat" Hodge at katina.hodge@
arkansas.gov for more
information.
Tree Streets
are Nov. 6, 13, and 20th, headed up by YLS member
John Baker. Meet at Community Bakery in downtown Little
Rock, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Please watch for more
YLS service projects throughout the state in the near
future.•
|
