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Bill Would Give Indigent Parents Appointed Counsel in Some Family Court Matters
Last month, the state's Senate Judiciary Committee advanced a bill that, if passed, will help indigent parents involved in child removal and placement proceedings. The bill, proposed by Chairman John A DeFrancisco, a Republican from Syracuse, would authorize Family Court judges to assign counsel to indigent parents at post-hearing conferences, if such assistance is requested. “This would ensure that the parent would have access to assistance for the critical agency case conferences that are often pivotal in determining the ultimate permanency planning goal for the child and concomitant rights of the parents,” stated Chief Administrative Judge Jonathan Lippman's request for the bill, S5255.
Judge Lippman's Family Court Advisory and Rules Committee recommended the legislation in part because of the mandate to expedite permanent placements from children under federal Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA). In recent years, the legislature has greatly increased the availability of law guardians in many stages of foster care and permanency proceedings, but offers of representation to the parents in post-hearing proceedings have lagged behind. The new ASFA timelines, although not always complied with, have added a new urgency to parents' need to be represented at all stages of permanency determinations because their parental rights can be terminated if family reunification isn't achieved within 15 months. In cases considered “emergency cases,” parental rights can be terminated even sooner.
Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About It
Why is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
A Lawyer's System for Active Reading
Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.
Protecting Innovation in the Cyber World from Patent Trolls
With trillions of dollars to keep watch over, the last thing we need is the distraction of costly litigation brought on by patent assertion entities (PAEs or "patent trolls"), companies that don't make any products but instead seek royalties by asserting their patents against those who do make products.